This week we were saddened to hear of the death of Mort Gamble.
He was a truly remarkable man, and a prime example of the way that relationships are formed at West Virginia Wesleyan that enrich people throughout their lives. He was a teacher, mentor, friend, and colleague to many among the WVWC family.
He came to WVWC in 1975 and taught English, Humanities, and Communication. During this time he was also the advisor for the Pharos.
After teaching from 1975-83, Mort was named Assistant to the Vice President for Development at West Virginia Wesleyan. During the year that he held this position, he did all of the research and writing of the application to have Agnes Howard Hall included on the National Register of Historic Places. You can read this eleven page document here.
In February of 1984, he became the Director of College Relations. The Summer 1984 issue of the Sundial, of which he was the editor, listed this notice:
Mort Gamble became Director of College Relations in February. A former assistant to the vice president for development and special projects coordinator for the admissions office, Gamble distributes public information for the College. He is also a publications contributor to the admissions office. A teacher at Wesleyan for eight years, Gamble joined the development staff in 1982. He is a graduate of West Virginia University.
Teacher, Mentor, Friend
Mort kept in touch with many of the people from WVWC throughout his life, both students and colleagues. I would like to highlight just a few here, but there are many who could tell similar stories.
- Scott Miller, ’81 (now President of Virginia Wesleyan University) first met Mort as a freshman at WVWC. Both as Mort’s student and as a writer (and later editor) of the school paper, The Pharos, Scott was taught, mentored, and encouraged by Mort. As the years progressed, Mort and Scott worked closely together at more than one institution of higher education of which Scott was president.
- Dr. William Mallory remembers Mort’s collegiality in the English department, and having a good working relationship in the early days of the Humanities program. It was also Dr. Mallory who remembered Mort’s work on the Agnes Howard application. As Mort transitioned to the development office, Dr. Mallory remembers and appreciates Mort’s continuted willingness to collaborate on literary projects.
- Bob Skinner, ’75 (now Vice President for Advancement at West Virginia Wesleyan), was the Sports Information Director when Mort first came to Wesleyan, and by the time Mort moved into his administrative position Bob was the Director of the Campus Center. Having moved on into roles held by Mort and doing similar jobs in Advancement, they have certainly worked together and kept in touch throughout the years.
- Will Armistead, ’81 (recently retired Associate Vice President for Alumni & Advancement at West Virginia Wesleyan College) graduated the same year as Scott Miller. In the Summer 1984 issue of the Sundial, the very next paragraph following the notice of Mort’s appointment mentioned that William B. Armistead (1981) had been named Associate Director of Admissions. His duties would have had him crossing paths with Mort Gamble at that time. In addition, he followed in Mort’s footsteps at the Fairmont State Foundation from 2012-15.
- Sarah Lowther Hensley, ’84 (former colleague at Fairmont State University and now serving as the Marketing and Communications Director for the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at West Virginia University, was Mort’s Colleague at Fairmont State, and remembers him as a thoughtful person who cared about standards and who was supportive of his colleagues. She says that he was someone you could go to to talk about things and get a calm perspective – the very definition of a teacher, a mentor, and a friend.
Each of these knew Mort Gamble as a friend, a mentor, and a colleague. Each remembers his positive encouragement, his honest advice, his joy in supporting them and in helping to present other people (and the institutions where he worked) in the best light.
Eulogy
Dr. Scott Miller gave the eulogy for his long-time friend at a service at Virginia Wesleyan University last week. He has graciously shared that eulogy with DreamersAndGiants, and has given permission to post it here.
Wesleyan memories abound in this eulogy as Scott shares memories of Mort as a professor and as an advisor on the Pharos. The eulogy actually begins with a summary of Mort’s life which was written by Mort himself last fall. How very fitting that he would provide this wonderful gift.
Beyond Higher Education
One aspect of Mort’s life which may not be as familiar to those who didn’t spend time with him was his passion for the history of the Circus. Scott Miller writes:
Mort had a lifelong passion for the circus, and even worked for two seasons as a crew member with “Circus Kirk,” a three-ring traveling big top show which appeared in the Eastern U.S. in the 1970s. He was a regular presenter on circus history, culture, and media exposure at national conferences, and is the author of book reviews, articles, essays, and features on circuses for regional and national publications. He contributed three chapters to the 2007 book “The Many Worlds of Circus,” edited by Robert Sugarman. And at the time of his passing, he was at work with Maureen Brunsdale of the Milner Library at Illinois State University on a book-length biography of trapeze artist and show manager Arthur M. Concello.
Mort’s Chapters in The Many Worlds of Circus included:
- Chapter Nine Circus Kirk: A Mud Show Back to the Future (What the Circus did for Us)
- Chapter Eleven Circus Noir: Peering into the Dark Corners of the Big Top
- Chapter Fifteen Circus in a Box: The Big Top on TV
Remembering Mort
Mort Gamble touched many lives with his teaching, his sense of humor, his enthusiasm and his encouragement. It has been thirty-three years since he was at WVWC on a daily basis. Many generations of students, faculty, and administrators have come and gone during that time. Today we celebrate the impact he had on those who had the good fortune of being here when Mort Gamble was among us.
Thanks to those who shared their memories with me in order to write this blog post. One person’s memories are good — the memories of many help to paint a more complete picture.