{"id":57038,"date":"2024-05-21T10:01:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T14:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=57038"},"modified":"2024-08-19T15:57:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T19:57:50","slug":"a-heart-of-service-celebrating-the-legacy-of-vira-hershberger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2024\/a-heart-of-service-celebrating-the-legacy-of-vira-hershberger\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A heart of service\u2019: Celebrating the legacy of Vira Hershberger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Food service endowment honors longtime dining hall employee <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 26 years, the sound of Vira Hershberger<\/strong>\u2019s knife slicing through heads of lettuce was a familiar and comforting rhythm in the dining hall kitchen of EMU (then known as Eastern Mennonite College). From 1970 to 1996, Hershberger dedicated herself each day to arranging the salad bar and greeting everyone she met with warmth and friendliness. Today, her legacy of humble service and love continues through a memorial endowment in her honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former dining hall manager Marilyn Schlabach \u201965<\/strong>, who worked alongside Hershberger for 15 years, recalls the indelible impact she had on everyone around her. \u201cI don\u2019t think I ever heard her complain,\u201d Schlabach said. \u201cShe had a heart of service.\u201d Schlabach, who was Hershberger\u2019s supervisor from 1986 to 1994, remembers her as a model employee: self-motivated, warm and endlessly dedicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the hardest time during my annual evaluations coming up with anything for her to improve on,\u201d Schlabach said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Vira Hershberger pictured far left in the second row. (Photo from the 1983 Shenandoah yearbook)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"
Vira Hershberger in her retirement years.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Hershberger arrived at work each morning, before she was scheduled, to get organized and prepared for the day. If she felt like she wasn\u2019t finished at the end of her shift, she would clock out and keep working until she was satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her daughter, Joann Henderson<\/strong> MA ’07 (counseling)<\/strong>, recalls her mother\u2019s joy in her work. \u201cShe had a great deal of pride in her salad bar,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was immaculate and always fresh.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her son, Larry Hershberger<\/strong>, also noted the love she had for her job in dining services. \u201cI don\u2019t think she ever missed a day of work in those 26 years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vira Hershberger\u2019s dedication to service extended beyond her job at EMU. Even after retiring at 74, she continued to volunteer at Gift and Thrift and attend Park View Mennonite Church as an active member. Her children remember her constant activity and desire for productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe often told us she wished she could still be working,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cShe loved working, and she loved working at EMU.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t know how many times she said to me during those years, ‘Oh, Larry, I don’t know why I retired when I did,'” her son recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2022, she passed away at the age of 100, but her legacy lives on through the Vira Miller Hershberger Memorial Endowment to Support Food Service<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established by Larry Hershberger and his three siblings on behalf of the family, the endowment honors her lifelong service by providing annual support for EMU dining services. It will help to fund the maintenance of dining facilities, replacement of kitchen equipment, staffing support and other essential needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love that we get to honor her and her work, as well as the work of all those people behind the scenes who often don\u2019t get recognition,\u201d Henderson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We believe it’s something mom would’ve wanted us to do,” Larry Hershberger added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirk Shisler \u201981<\/strong>, vice president for Advancement at EMU, highlighted the significance of the Hershberger family\u2019s gift. \u201cWhat\u2019s special about this is that it illuminates the life and legacy of their beloved mother,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, because it\u2019s an endowment, it will have a sustained impact in supporting EMU food services, especially kitchen operations, for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Longtime dining services employee Vira Hershberger, center, sits with her children, from left, Larry, Donna, Joann and Keith.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A PhD in humility, love and service<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

She was born Vira Gladys Miller in Wellman, Iowa, in 1922 in a family of five brothers and two sisters. Growing up during the Great Depression, she left home at 17 to work as a housekeeper for the superintendent of Lancaster City Schools in Pennsylvania, supporting her family with her earnings. Despite having an eighth grade education, her intelligence and strong work ethic helped her excel at various roles, including as a clerk in the general store in Frytown, Iowa, where she met her husband Reaford Hershberger<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was always about serving others,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cIf my mom had a PhD, it would be in humility, love and service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1969, Myron Augsburger<\/strong>, president of EMU at the time and a friend of the Hershbergers, offered Reaford Hershberger a job heading the buildings and grounds on campus. He accepted the offer, and the family moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia. Vira Hershberger was soon hired as a salad cook in the dining hall, where she worked until her retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Vira Hershberger’s retirement ceremony in 1996, Schlabach reflected on the countless heads of lettuce she must have chopped over her 26 years of service \u2014 an estimated tens of thousands. But beyond the numbers, she is remembered for her unwavering humility, her deep faith and her genuine love for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was always smiling,\u201d Larry Hershberger said. \u201cHer disposition was always effervescent and happy. Even when she was not doing so well, she always had a positive outlook and never complained.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vira Hershberger found joy in life\u2019s simple pleasures, from the beauty of nature to a cold glass of water on a hot day. \u201cShe taught us that the little things in life always have meaning,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cShe was a quiet, humble woman of deep faith who exhibited love and service and, to me, is the epitome of Christ\u2019s love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about endowments and grants at EMU here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food service endowment honors longtime dining hall employee  For 26 years, the sound of Vira Hershberger\u2019s knife slicing through heads of lettuce was a familiar and comforting rhythm in the ... read more about \u2018A heart of service\u2019: Celebrating the legacy of Vira Hershberger<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":57045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14715,17562],"tags":[17837,17832,6858,5944,18123,18122],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-57038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-digest","tag-advancement","tag-dining-services","tag-endowment","tag-giving","tag-marilyn-schlabach","tag-vira-hershberger","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A heart of service\u2019: Celebrating the legacy of Vira Hershberger - 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