The connections between the Danford family and Missouri Western are many and enduring.
Jeannetta Danford ’51 & ’72 and her late husband, Thad, both graduated from the St. Joseph Junior College and returned to Missouri Western as soon as it became a four-year college to earn bachelor’s degrees. Dan ’78, their son, and Chris (Killen) ’78 Danford met as students, and one of their daughters is a graduate, as well. Jeannetta, Dan and Chris have been supportive of Missouri Western through all those years.
“We have always looked for opportunities to stay involved in the community,” Dan says, “and Missouri Western has remained a priority over the years.”
Jeannetta is a member of the Missouri Western Arts Society and Missouri Western League for Excellence. Dan was a member of Missouri Western’s Board of Governors for five years, served as Alumni Association president and has been an adjunct instructor for business classes. Chris helped with strategic planning for the Alumni Association, and she and Dan are members of the Missouri Western Arts Society and the Gold Coat Club. Both Dan and Chris received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
They all attend several University events each year. Jeannetta said she has enjoyed the theatre productions and she attends the Junior College Reunion every year. “If I don’t know anyone there, I get acquainted,” she said.
Recently, Dan, Chris, and Dan’s sister, Sally, established an endowed scholarship for nontraditional students in honor of Jeanetta’s 80th birthday, the Thad and Jeannetta Danford Scholarship.
“Sally and I watched our parents go back to college as we were growing up. Graduation for them had a profound impact on our family. Part of it was their professional success after graduation, but part of it was their ambition and perseverance,” Dan said.
Jeannetta graduated with an elementary education degree in 1972 and spent her 21-year teaching career at John Glenn Elementary School.
After high school, Chris spent one year at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) before transferring to Missouri Western. “I was thrilled to have the education classes here,” Chris said. “It was the best decision ever.” She graduated with her elementary education degree and spent many years in the classroom before earning a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Northwest Missouri State University and becoming a high school counselor at Central High School in St. Joseph and Parkville High School in Parkville, Mo. She currently is a counselor at Bishop LeBlond High School in St. Joseph.
“Missouri Western taught students how to think, not what to think. We learned how to problem solve and to be better teachers and better persons,” Chris said. “Now I help students think outside the traditional box.”
Dan said he had a lot of opportunities to go to other colleges, but he and his high school friends decided to go to Missouri Western and pledge to the Tau Kappa Epsion fraternity. He graduated with a business degree with a marketing emphasis, but he additionally credits Missouri Western for teaching him life skills such as time management, and the oral and written communication skills that have led to his success. Dan founded the Family Investment Center in St. Joseph in 1998.
And what comes to mind when they think about their college days? All three remember the cold walks across campus in the winter.
“There was never a colder place on earth than Missouri Western in January or February,” Dan said.
“There were only three buildings and they weren’t close together, but we made it,” Jeannetta said. “And the campus gradually got prettier and prettier.”