In a cozy corner of the Library on EOU’s campus, longtime alumni Mary Jo Lemon, ’66, and her husband Terry Lemon, ’69, reminisced about their memories as adults, students, and children.��

“I remember my mother bringing my sister and me to her office and just playing in the halls of Inlow,” Mary Jo said smiling. “She worked for seven of EOU’s presidents throughout her career; I remember helping her fold letters and babysitting for all of the professors.”

Mary Jo, part of a five-generation Mountaineer legacy, and her husband Terry, also a Mountie, talked about the importance of EOU in shaping lives. “It was here I realized the importance of education in our lives. EOU molded me into the person I am today and I am eternally grateful for that,” Terry chimed. “I look back at my days at Eastern as an educational experience and character building. I was in the military for six months before starting college, which was a real growing up experience. But college was a maturing experience. I look back on it as one of the best times of my life.”

“Our time at Eastern was so much fun!” Mary Jo expressed. “I sang with the Blue & Gold Singers; Terry played music; there were dances in Hoke every Friday. Our classes were small and we knew our professors. Everybody knew everybody, and it was just such a fun time.”

For Mary Jo and Terry, Eastern is much more than fond memories. Their dedication to their alma mater goes beyond nostalgia and personal history. It’s rooted in the belief that education is a gateway to a better future. 

“Education can change lives. Scholarships can change even more,” Terry said. “We have the opportunity to help and support these students, and they’re so appreciative of the support. We know the students appreciate every scholarship they get. We need to do all we can do to help.”

Mary Jo and Terry have committed to giving back to EOU to reflect their desire to nurture the next generation of Mountaineers. “Terry and I decided we always want to give back to Eastern because it’s important as alumni. You think back about your time here, or maybe about your kids or grandkids coming here. There’s something that drew us here. It starts at Eastern and carries you wherever you go. The mentoring, the family you get here is so strong. Hopefully the students we are helping to support will also want to give back when they graduate and carry on the tradition.”

“It’s made us feel good watching the campus grow over the years. To be here watching the developments, knowing the affection we have for the campus feels good to be a part of the growth. It helps the quality of education for the students,” Terry said. “It makes our hearts swell. EOU was great when we were students. You think everything was wonderful at the time, and it was. Now, there is so much more. And we are able to be a part of that momentum.”

Today, the Lemons continue their tradition of supporting EOU, in a variety of forms, from service with the Alumni Board to ongoing gifts, to attending events on campus. “My mother served on the Foundation and I was part of the founders of the Alumni Board,” Mary Jo recalls of being involved. “Everyone had their heart in it, all of the alumni association. It’s been great to be involved, watching the campus and EOU community grow.”

“Oh, our blood runs blue and gold,” Mary Jo chuckled. “We do what we can to support the students and we always will.” 

Next time you’re at a football game, make sure to give a “Go Mounties” wave to Terry and Mary Jo.

Caring professors and coaches made a lasting impact on Wilda Stratton, ’72, and now she’s determined to pay it forward. 

Stratton and her husband Marcus Watt have set up a $2 million estate gift to the EOU Foundation that will benefit women in STEM fields and student-athletes. Adding this legacy to their will ensures a legacy of education and opportunity for rural students.

As a biology student and multi-sport athlete at EOU, Stratton built connections with peers and mentors across campus. These relationships kept her on track during a difficult time in her young adulthood

“I was very adrift because both my parents had passed away and I had to leave our home, but I kept coming back to EOU because I knew the professors,” Stratton said. 

State scholarships and a consistent flow of weekend and evening jobs allowed Stratton to stay in school and enter the medical field. She built a career overseeing blood banks and transfusion services for major hospitals. Traveling to inspect facilities, Stratton used her experience at EOU to make friends everywhere. 

“The big thing that stuck with me was the ability to get along with all kinds of people and appreciate their strengths,” she said. “In a team sport each person brings something different and you have to respect each other.”

Stratton and Watt are both volleyball players, and 15% of their gift will benefit EOU’s women’s volleyball team. The other 85% will provide scholarships for women in science, technology, engineering and math, fields like Stratton’s that have historically been dominated by men. 

The process of establishing an endowed estate gift was new to Watt and Stratton, and they found expert help in EOU Foundation staff.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a couple of phone calls really solidified those particular desires I had in mind,” Stratton said. “Once we started the process, you could focus on it and keep making progress to get it right.” 

“If people are unsure, they should really just call and ask!,” Watt said. “Staff do this every day, and so often people don’t realize those resources are there. It can be intimidating to know who to call, but once you start there are resources to guide you. Hesitancy shouldn’t be a barrier.”

When she started teaching in 1971 the 2nd graders in her class called her Miss Linda, but after she married Ray Jones, Linda (ne’e George) Jones, ’71, became Mrs. Linda.

A degree in elementary education powered Jones’ 30-year teaching career throughout Eastern Oregon. After three years teaching on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation she returned to her hometown of Baker City, where Ray was working as a radio DJ. He had a lifelong love for community theatre, and that’s how they met.

“He was playing Candy in ‘Mice and Men,’ and it was the last night of the show,” Jones said. “He invited me to the cast party at his apartment, and we were together ever since.”

Ray passed away in 2014, and their shared legacy of involvement in the arts lives on in Linda. She volunteers for local performing arts organizations and set up an endowment with the EOU Foundation in her will. The fund will provide scholarships for music and theatre students at EOU.

Legacy gifts often set aside a percentage of the estate for the beneficiary. In the Jones’ case, they decided to give 100% of their remaining estate to EOU students (after specific bequests in the will have been made).

“We decided to put our money into Eastern performing arts,” she said. “Education has always been important to me. I’m pleased to know it’s going to be used by people who have that desire and need it.”

She said she’s been impressed by recent performances on campus, and was inspired to contribute to the purchase of a new concert grand piano for McKenzie Theatre in 2019.

Although Ray got most of the stage time, Linda also sang and played piano. She was involved in 4-H and was one of seven members of the university’s last Evensong Court in 1971. She and her fellow princesses wore traditional Grecian gowns for the ceremony on the Grand Staircase.

She said EOU offered a higher education experience that suited her rural roots, and it continues to do so today.

“I grew up on a dairy farm. I’m a small town girl, and I needed small for college,” she said. “I didn’t want to get swallowed up on a big campus. That’s why Eastern was so great for me and still is now.”

Learn more about the EOU Foundation’s Legacy Society and how to support students through a gift of any size at .

Field trips, guest speakers, internships and conferences are among the co-curricular opportunities that make an EOU education meaningful for so many students. Many of these projects require additional funding, beyond typical academic allocations, and Patrick Nearing, ’75, wanted to ensure that students would have access to these enriching activities for generations to come. 

Nearing, who just finished a term as President, established the Deans’ Fund for Excellence in fall 2020 so the leader of each college could prioritize and support hands-on learning for their students and faculty.��

“During the year there often come up either special projects or educational opportunities that need funding,” Nearing said. “The deans of each of the schools are knowledgeable about these opportunities and can make the best use of the funds.”

Nearing founded the Deans’ Fund for Excellence endowment through the EOU Foundation so that fellow alumni and community members could also contribute to it. 

“My hope for this fund is that it will continue to grow through other donations so that students and faculty can take full advantage of all alternate educational opportunities,” Nearing said. “As Oregon‘s Rural University there are many unique educational opportunities that students and faculty will be able to access because of the Deans’ Fund for Excellence.” 

As a long-time donor to the EOU Foundation, Nearing sees philanthropic support as critical to the university’s ability to carry out its mission. 

“As state funds continue to dry up, the money that the Foundation provides to support students becomes ever more important,” he said. “I also support the Foundation because EOU is my alma mater. The education I received here has helped give me opportunities I could not have dreamed of. Because of this I would like to see others have those same opportunities so that they can fulfill their own dreams.”

To learn more or contribute to the Deans’ Excellence Fund, contact the EOU Foundation at 541-962-3740 or foundation@eou.edu.��

Becoming like sisters with a teammate took on a much more literal meaning for Jamie Jo (Cant) Haddock, ’04, and Tricia (Haddock) Kelly, ’04. They played on the Mountaineer women’s basketball team together, and Jamie Jo later married Tricia’s brother. 

The sisters-in-law remain involved on campus as members of the , the athletics booster club. When they wore the blue and gold, MAA scholarships didn’t exist. Now they’re ensuring future student-athletes have every possible opportunity to succeed.��

“I can see the value as a player who had to have a job, go to school, and practice,” Jamie Jo said. “It is hard to focus on school or basketball when you are working 10 to 20 hours a week to help support yourself. Having that burden removed can make our student athletes more successful.” 

The MAA consists of EOU alumni, fans and friends who focus on fundraising for student-athlete scholarships and the needs of athletic teams. As an affiliate of the , the MAA is a private nonprofit organization.��

A surge of enthusiastic former athletes has brought fresh energy to the MAA. Tricia and Jamie Jo are among this new generation of alumni. They’ve expanded year-round events, invited recent grads to start participating right away and offer membership for just $25 a year. 

Scholarships attract top-tier athletes to EOU, and connect them to the community in an enduring way. Wider involvement, regardless of the donation amount, can help EOU athletic teams continue their winning ways. 

“I know giving can sometimes be difficult, especially the first few years after college,” Tricia said. “Personally, I haven’t been consistent in my giving since graduating from Eastern. Knowing the impact my donation can make on a student-athlete’s success means my family will continue to give yearly.”����

Join the team behind the teams!

Members of the Mountaineer Athletic Association support student-athletes through scholarships and other fundraising efforts. Become a member today!
Questions? Call 541-962-3946 or email sflett@eou.edu for more information.

The Banner Bank Track debuted this spring, marking the first sponsor-named facility on campus. 

For years, has appeared on signs and sponsor lists throughout EOU athletics, but as of this spring the company has taken it to the next level. The company agreed to a $100,000 sponsorship spread out over the next 10 years.��

Banner Bank Senior Vice President Ryan Hildebrandt said the new partnership is mutually beneficial.

“We’ve been in discussion with the team at Eastern for more than a year, developing this sponsorship — it is a great win-win for both organizations,” Hildebrandt said.

Founded in Walla Walla 130 years ago, Banner Bank has grown to be one of the largest banks headquartered in the Pacific Northwest. 

“We’re active in the communities we serve because connecting — with our clients, one another and the community — is a core value at Banner Bank,” Hildebrandt said. “Being an active corporate citizen is one way we can support where we all live and work.”

He said projects like this one help rural areas in the state thrive. 

“We are proud to serve Eastern Oregon,” Hildebrandt said. “We understand what makes this region special, and we’re delighted to continue to offer capital to help this region expand and grow.”  

Additional sponsorships and corporate donations support a range of student activities at EOU. Contact University Advancement to learn more about these and other opportunities to invest in Oregon’s Rural University.��

Part of something bigger

A new business in his old hometown inspired James Gorham, ’95, to get involved in the EOU Foundation. Now, more than 10 years later, the business is thriving and Gorham is a member of the EOU Foundation Board of Directors.

After graduation, he earned his master’s in physical therapy and opened his own clinic in Sherwood, Oregon. When he moved back to La Grande in 2007 to be near family, Gorham quickly got involved in the community that raised him.

“I felt like I needed to give back to the place that had made me who I am,” he said. “It was a difficult time at the university and I wanted to be a part of helping turn things around.”

As one of the owners of Mountain Valley Therapy, Gorham has played a role in strengthening the relationship between local businesses and EOU. He volunteers on the EOU Foundation Scholarship Review Committee, reading hundreds of essays and applications each February. Gorham said he received a Foundation scholarship as a student, when he said tuition cost about $300 a term. Now that his son is an EOU student, that number is closer to $2,500.

“The need for scholarships has risen dramatically,” Gorham said. “There’s a direct correlation between scholarships available and the number of students who can attend college.”

Gorham and his wife Tracey support the Health and Human Performance program, since he studied exercise science and works in the industry. Regardless of their major, though, Gorham said he’s eager to show every student how they can be successful at EOU. They give to the Building Champions campaign, in addition to scholarships.

“For me, it’s about giving back and knowing that what you’re giving goes directly to students who may not otherwise be able to go to college,” Gorham said. “Life gets busy and we don’t stop to think about it, but if it hadn’t been for Eastern I wouldn’t have what I do today.”

Gorham said his family has lived in the Grande Ronde Valley since the 1870s, and those deep roots keep him committed to improving access and opportunity for students in the region. Alongside his fellow Foundation Trustees, Gorham said he’s inspired by the sense of working toward a common goal.

“I really enjoy the teamwork and bringing people together from so many different walks of life for the goal of making EOU better,” he said. “Giving of time, giving of ideas — that’s altruism, being part of something bigger to make something better.”

One good teacher can make the difference between loving math or hating it. But for Herb and Linda Jolliff, ’66, a calculus professor at EOU taught them even more.

The two met in Leroy Damewood’s class in 1963 and graduated together three years later.

“We met and got to know one another studying calculus and differential equations,” Herb said.��

Linda went on to teach in public schools, and Herb taught at the Oregon Institute of Technology after graduating with a master’s degree from Utah State University. They agreed, though, that Damewood’s example set them on their paths to success.

“It was a period of growing up for me,” Herb said. “He was an excellent teacher. The class was very tough, but you learned a lot.”

Linda, the only woman in Damewood’s class at the time, said she appreciated his no-nonsense “say what you mean, and mean what you say” approach. Linda and Herb’s shared passion for teaching in rural areas has only grown in 53 years of marriage. Where they live now, in Independence, Ore., Linda said a handful of colleges are within an hour’s drive.

“But in Eastern Oregon, EOU serves a real purpose,” she said.

Herb remembers living on a wheat ranch 23 miles from Arlington, Ore., and how that remoteness made his education challenging. During his senior year of high school, there weren’t enough fellow students to offer a math class at his level.��

Today, EOU fills that gap for rural students throughout the region. And the Jolliffs are already thinking about the next generation of math enthusiasts. As Oregon’s Rural University, EOU produces many of the educators that fill public schools in small towns. Herb and Linda established a scholarship this year, through the EOU Foundation, that will support those young teachers on their way to molding the minds of tomorrow.

“We both love math, and they always need good math teachers in rural areas,” Herb said. “It takes a special person … The best teachers have got to be tough, but they’ve got to be compassionate.”

They see the endowment as an investment in the future of rural communities. Linda said scholarships made college possible for her, and she’s eager to “pay it forward” to others.��

“We’ve lived in small places all of our married life, so that’s just our outlook,” Herb said. “That’s why we want to support someone from Eastern Oregon, who would give back to those smaller communities.”

A numbers game

A love for baseball and talent for athletics in general guided Denver Ginsey from student body president at La Grande High School to Eastern Oregon College in 1946, and his aptitude for math and science kept him in the game long after graduation.

Denver, ’48, and his wife Jean, and her two younger brothers, grew up in the Grande Ronde Valley. Denver’s brother in law and sister in law, Jim and Char Evans, still live in La Grande. Denver played baseball, basketball and football in high school, then collegiate baseball and basketball under coach Bob Quinn after serving in the U.S. Navy.

But science professor Ralph Badgley had the most lasting impact on him. As a student, Denver passed the Badgley’s house every day after class and when he stopped to ask about his coursework Professor Badgley always had time for his pupil.

Denver graduated from EOU and transferred to the University of Washington alongside four of his classmates. The cohort often took classes together, and when grades were posted they consistently finished in the top five. Denver said his and his classmates’ success was the result of Badgley’s diligent work during their studies in La Grande.

Originally planning to study electrical engineering, Denver switched his major and instead became the first person to graduate from UW’s business program with a BA in mathematics.

Armed with his degree, he went to work for Wendell Milliman Consulting Actuary, then New York Life Insurance Co., and finally the oldest insurance brokerage firm in the world and the largest that was privately owned — Johnson and Higgins. Denver became president of the firm’s Washington State Corp., and a senior partner of the international organization.

Now 93, Denver has shifted his focus to the final innings of his career. After decades of faithfully supporting EOU students, he has established an endowed scholarship that will continue his family’s legacy in perpetuity. At $1 million, the Jean and Denver Ginsey Scholarship is the largest gift to the EOU Foundation by a living donor in the university’s history. The endowment will supply scholarships for several students in business or STEM programs every year.

Denver has also served on the board and on the senior council of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. His work with Boeing earned him an honorary law degree from the law firm Perkins Coie. He and Jean, who passed away in September 2011, have three children and six grandchildren.

The late Ted and Mary Brown bequeathed a bevy of interests to their three children. Ted, who taught at EOU, studied for a master’s in entomology and followed his passion from teaching Spanish, to anthropology, to education courses, and leading outdoor recreation groups.

Mary worked on campus as an advisor to foreign exchange students, and their children, Cathy, Alexander and Ann, inherited their parents’ passions.

“We got to participate so much in our parents’ lives,” Ann said. “Most folks stick the kids in the basement with a pizza, but we were involved in all of the things our parents were doing.”

All three siblings attended EOU and when Ted died in 2017, a former faculty member reached out to Ann, youngest of the three, about setting up a scholarship in honor of her parents.

Ann, ’80, earned a degree in chemistry before embarking on a 30-year veterinary career. At age 11, she tagged along as “unofficial mascot” of the student exchange program her father started in Michuacan, Mexico.

Ted also initiated a program that placed student-teachers in migrant camps, where they practiced bilingual education. Alexander carries on this passion as an advocate for DACA students.

Cathy, meanwhile, picked up her parents’ penchant for teaching and the arts. Ann said her father enjoyed helping young teachers brave their first day in the classroom.

“He probably nudged them in the door with a, ‘You can do it!’” Ann said. “He would come home and say, “They’ve got a spark in them.’”

The siblings created a scholarship in honor of their parents through the EOU Foundation. In determining what type of students would be eligible, they focused on their folks’ many passions and split along somewhat predictable lines.

“My sister wanted to award a music student and my brother wanted them to be bilingual,” Ann said. “Tom Bradbear, who worked with my dad, helped us decide to award a master’s student in any subject.”

The Ted and Mary Brown Scholarship Fund will be awarded for the first time in fall [2019] to local students in the Master’s of Art in Teaching program with financial need.

“I got a scholarship when I was entering college from Maybel Doty,” Ann said. “I never met her, but it was so encouraging. Our hope is that this scholarship helps and inspires somebody.”