Born in 1914, Martha Whissen graduated from Eastern Mennonite School in 1931, and she is likely our oldest living graduate. Martha will turn 103 on February 26, 2017. She was born three years before EMS started, even before the beginning of World War I. Martha Shank’s grandparents suffered the loss of their barn and house during the infamous Burning of the Shenandoah Valley in October, 1861. Her Shank grandfather donated land near their Broadway farm in 1885, for Zion Mennonite Church, where Martha has attended all her life. Martha is also a 1953 graduate of Eastern Mennonite College, and she earned a Master’s in Education from Madison College (now James Madison University) in 1963.
Martha’s strong Christian faith has encouraged many. She will tell you, as she did in her interview with me recently at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, that one of the highlights of her life was teaching students in the Broadway public school system from 1957 to 1979. Martha has been single most of her life, though she was married to Clarence Whissen from 1967 until his passing in 1990.
In the EMS 1931 yearbook, Martha was characterized by her peers as being “a real Virginian.” Over the past three decades Martha and I have attended Zion Mennonite Church together. She has instructed me about Virginia history and culture, she has given me several important history interviews out of her excellent memory, and she has shown me her 19th century artifacts and books. Martha never had children, but she has encouraged, taught, and guided many, including me, in understanding a Southern way of life that is gentle, gracious, and hospitable. Thank you Martha Shank Whissen for your lifetime of educating and encouraging others. We look forward to celebrating the EMS Centennial with you.
