Libby, Randy, Deaver, Lynn, Lee and all of the other members of the Drinko Family.\u00a0 I bring you sincere condolences from your friends at Marshall University. At his Alma Mater, John gladdened the hearts of all those he touched.\u00a0 And, I was fortunate to know and to work with John for the last fifteen years.John Deaver Drinko was the most interesting and accomplished man I\u2019ve ever met.\u00a0 He devoured information, was interested in literally everything under the sun and amazingly seemed to have retained everything he had ever read, heard or seen.\u00a0 His compassion and comprehension was remarkable, and no one could tell a story like he could.<\/p>\n
I look upon John Drinko as a friend and mentor.\u00a0 He\u2019d talk to you in such a manner, that, when you parted, you would say,\u00a0 this is an extraordinary man.<\/p>\n
John Deaver Drinko was a man of many parts \u2013 noted attorney, successful businessman, prominent Charolais cattleman, inveterate student of life and philanthropist extraordinaire.<\/p>\n
While actively engaged in several philanthropic pursuits, John Drinko earned a national reputation for his singular support of higher education.\u00a0 As evidence of his unstinting interest, Dr. Drinko received honorary degrees from a dozen American colleges and universities. His generosity extended well beyond the bounds of the Marshall University community.\u00a0 John\u2019s interest in higher education was remarkably universal.\u00a0 He established 16 endowed chairs and nearly a dozen academic programs in the name of his law firm, its founders, colleagues and friends or himself and Libby.<\/p>\n
And, of all of these collegiate interests none was more important to John Drinko than his ties to his Alma Mater \u2013 Marshall University.\u00a0 It was during the Great Depression that John came to Marshall on an athletic scholarship.\u00a0 In reality, John was mature well beyond his years. Actually, since the age of nine he had assumed the role of breadwinner for himself, his Mother and his sister Francis.\u00a0 He arrived at Marshall wearing a feed sack shirt made by his Mother.<\/p>\n
John told me on numerous occasions how wonderful his years at Marshall were.\u00a0 He enjoyed his time at his Alma Mater and fondly recalled that \u201clooking back, I had some of the greatest teachers in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 1942, while working fulltime at the local A & P, John graduated with highest honors and never forgot his Alma Mater.\u00a0 It was at that time, he said, that he would someday find a way to demonstrate his appreciation. And indeed, John, true to his word, has repaid his debt a thousand fold!<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe,\u201d He once said, \u201cSomebody built the place before I got there.\u00a0 If you got something out of it, you should give something back.\u201d<\/p>\n
At critical times in its institutional history John Drinko has been there for his Alma Mater. No better example exists than the leadership role he took following the devastating Marshall plane crash on November 14, 1970 which clamed the lives of seventy-five football players, coaches, university staff, fans and crew.<\/p>\n
Immediately upon hearing the news, John rushed to Huntington to help.\u00a0 In rapid order, he raised over $500,000, \u00a0in contributions for the victim\u2019s families before he returned to Cleveland.<\/p>\n
Then in 1985, John and Libby established a one million dollar academic chair, the university\u2019s first, in the College of Liberal Arts.\u00a0 Some nine years later (1994) John created and handsomely endowed the now nationally recognized Drinko Academy for Political Institutions and Civic Culture.<\/p>\n
Shortly after establishing the Academy, John told me and again I\u2019ll quote him: Whatever we do, \u201cit will always be done First Class and never half way\u201d.\u00a0 John Drinko played an active and enthusiastic role in the organization\u2019s evolution and operations since its inception.\u00a0 And, the Drinko Academy is now regarded as an academic centerpiece on campus and is recognized as one of the university\u2019s elite Centers of \u00a0Academic Excellence.\u00a0 Additionally, the Academy is the proud recipient of three national awards for academic and community achievement.<\/p>\n
John\u2019s support did not rest solely with the work of the Academy.\u00a0 A list of sixteen major university programs and projects have benefited from his generosity and leadership.<\/p>\n
Then there is John\u2019s pride and joy!\u00a0 His Library.\u00a0 It is an award winning structure renouned both for its architecture style and its technological innovations.\u00a0 What John was most proud of was the number of individual donations to its construction \u2013exactly 2,265 in number \u2013 far more than for any other building project on campus.<\/p>\n
At John\u2019s insistence all donors, large and small alike, received equal acclaim.\u00a0 As John said:\u00a0 \u201cRemember the Widow\u2019s Mite \u2013 Sometimes, Alan, less is more!\u201d<\/p>\n
This attitude is what we at Marshall remember most about John Drinko.\u00a0 He was a people person who genuinely cared.\u00a0 On each visit, John would approach someone \u2013 a grounds keeper, a student, a faculty or staff member, extend his hand and exclaim, \u201c Hi I\u2019m John Drinko \u2013what\u2019s your name and what do you do?\u201d\u00a0 He was interested in talking to people, listening to their comments and thanking them for their contributions to Marshall.\u00a0 His caring left a lasting impression upon all he met.<\/p>\n
As one person put it: \u201cJohn Drinko was not just a benefactor, he was our friend and mentor.\u201d\u00a0 To quote another: \u201cDr. Drinko is a tither \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0many times over\u2026 He doesn\u2019t just give money, he gives of himself..\u201d\u00a0 And finally, speaking for hundreds of us, \u201cJohn Drinko has used not only his wealth but also his ideas to improve the quality of education for generations to come, we will continue to benefit from his insights and his generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you think that John Drinko is gone then obviously you have not visited the Marshall campus.\u00a0 John Drinko\u2019s legacy is alive and vibrant. The daily life at Marshall University makes John Drinko uniquely relevant.\u00a0 Brilliant, visionary, often blunt and always hard driving, John Drinko dedicated his significant talents and boundless energy to accomplish Marshall\u2019s institutional goals.<\/p>\n
His name and his ideals will continue to command attention in the central work of his university.\u00a0 And it is our privilege to serve as stewards of John\u2019s legacy to his Alma Mater he loved so much.\u00a0 As stated by our university President, Dr. Stephen Kopp, \u201cJohn Drinko will be forever remembered as a \u201cSon of Marshall.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eulogy of Dr. John Deaver Drinko delivered by Dr. Alan B. Gould Libby, Randy, Deaver, Lynn, Lee and all of the other members of the Drinko Family.\u00a0 I bring you sincere condolences from your friends at Marshall University. At his Alma Mater, John gladdened the hearts of all those he touched.\u00a0 And, I was fortunate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":703,"featured_media":0,"parent":213,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-214","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/703"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/drinko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}