Like Agnes Howard, Ethel Ray Loar was forced to withdraw from school due to rheumatoid arthritis. She spent the rest of her life confined to her parents’ home and died in 1930.
Her father, Lawson Leolidas Loar, was a successful businessman in Clarksburg. He also was the Superintendent of Sunday School at the Methodist Church in Grafton at the time of the first Mother’s Day Celebration. He died in 1938.
Due to the strong connection the family had with the Methodist Conference, and due to her belief in West Virginia Wesleyan College, Ethel’s mother, Mrs. Lawson Loar, agreed in 1943 to provide funds ($100,000) for the Hall of Music as a memorial to the Loar Family. This was a great act of faith and commitment at a time when the nation was facing World War once again. The building was not finished until 1953.
What an upgrade from the old Music Conservatory/Annex building! What an act of faith. What a generous gift.
(1952-09) The Loar Hall of Music and Fine Arts will also be ready for use at the beginning of the fall semester by the departments of music and fine arts. Practice rooms have been provided with the necessary pianos and organs, classrooms are provided with the finest available teaching equipment, and the immense north-lighted window of the fine arts studio shoul dinspire many a student artist to do his best. One of the outstanding features of the new building will be the auditorium, completely equipped for dramatic and musical productions as well as visual aids. While the Atkinson Chapel will retain its place as the scene for meetings requiring large seating space, the intimacy and fine equipment of the music hall will provide the setting for many meetings for which the larger hall is not needed. [West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 1952-09, p.1]
(1952-10-08) Fine Arts Hall Used By Students [Pharos 1952-10-08, p.1] This article includes detailed information about the building.
(1963-01) Gross to Dedicate New Loar Memorial Building [West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 1953-01, p.1]
(1953-03-13) Loar Memorial Hall Dedication Today [Pharos 1953-03-13, p.1]