{"id":58551,"date":"2025-04-02T08:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T12:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=58551"},"modified":"2025-04-02T08:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T12:02:14","slug":"a-royal-tale-speedy-margaret-martin-gehman-42-set-the-pace-for-giving-at-emu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/a-royal-tale-speedy-margaret-martin-gehman-42-set-the-pace-for-giving-at-emu\/","title":{"rendered":"A Royal Tale: \u2018Speedy\u2019 Margaret Martin Gehman \u201942 set the pace for giving at EMU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is the last of six stories about students and alumni leading up to LovEMU Giving Day, which is today. For more information about the day and how to donate, visit: love.emu.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever attended an art show at the gallery that bears her name, stepped foot inside one of the many buildings on campus she helped to finance, or benefited from her endowed scholarship fund, you\u2019re likely already familiar with the name Dr. Margaret Martin Gehman.<\/strong> What you might be less familiar with is the legacy of generosity and selfless service she embodied at EMU.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Gehman received a two-year degree from EMU in 1942 and joined the faculty in 1944; she taught art and physical education classes until her retirement in 1987. The professor emerita taught a watercolor class through 1996 and served regularly as a volunteer on campus and with other local organizations. She was among EMU\u2019s most generous philanthropists, establishing an endowed scholarship fund as well as program endowments for athletics, the humanities and special buildings on campus. In 2005, she became the first recipient of the eponymous \u201cEMU Philanthropist of the Year\u201d award. She died in August 2019 at age 97. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly a half-dozen years after her passing, Gehman\u2019s boundless generosity continues to flourish and shape lives at EMU. A recent $400,000 gift from her estate will bolster the Margaret Martin Gehman Endowed Scholarship Fund, which provides general financial aid to undergraduate students. The gift increases the endowment fund to more than $500,000, which is expected to generate about $25,000 in direct financial aid each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the fund previously supported one to two students each year, it can now benefit at least five students annually, according to Kirk Shisler<\/strong> ’81<\/strong>, vice president for advancement. \u201cMargaret loved EMU,\u201d he said. \u201cShe maintained continuous loyalty and appreciation for the students, alumni, many of whom remained her friends, and the strong sense of community she enjoyed throughout her many years here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Phil Helmuth, then-executive director of development at EMU, accepts the keys and title to Margaret Martin Gehman\u2019s 1967 VW Beetle.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As one example of her love for EMU, look no further than the time she donated her beloved 1967 blue Volkswagen Beetle in 2010 to support student scholarships. \u201cEMU has been good to me over the years, and this is another way I can express my appreciation,\u201d she said in an article<\/a> about the donation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shisler said the latest gift from her estate brings Gehman\u2019s total contributions to EMU to just under $2 million. \u201cThis puts an exclamation point on her many decades of support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2012 article<\/a> celebrating her 90th birthday, Gehman credited her parents with \u201cteaching the value of a lifestyle of simplicity and generosity.\u201d \u201cThe Lord \u2026 has blessed me with the ability to serve and the opportunity to share with others,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Margaret Martin Gehman introduced tennis, volleyball, ping pong, basketball, tumbling and a game called speedball\u2014a hybrid soccer and basketball game\u2014to EMU. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For much of her time at EMU, Gehman was affectionately known as \u201cSpeedy.\u201d A student had bestowed the nickname on her, not only for introducing the game of speedball to campus but also for her energy, athleticism, and swiftness. \u201cShe would dash across campus between classes,\u201d Shisler said. \u201cShe would practically run from one place to another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in her later years, the speed never left her. Braydon Hoover<\/strong> ’11, MAOL ’21,<\/strong> vice president for enrollment and long-time advancement professional at EMU, recalled watching his wife, Heidi Hoover ’10<\/strong>, escort Gehman to the art gallery named after her. \u201cI will never forget the image of \u2018Speedy,\u2019 at 94 years old, taking off down the hallway with my dear spouse having to jog to keep up with her, walker and all,\u201d he said. Hoover, like many on EMU\u2019s advancement team, also knew the longtime donor by another name: \u201cSaint Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One lesser-known detail about \u201cSaint Margaret\u201d was her love for lending money to people and organizations in need. On several occasions, Shisler said, she loaned money to EMU to fund certain projects. \u201cSometimes, she would turn around and forgive those loans, converting them into outright gifts,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fleet-footed philanthropist was a trailblazer, ahead of her time in many ways, as her nickname might suggest. She was among the first women graduates of EMU to earn a doctorate, receiving hers in art education from George Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) in 1962. Despite her plain dress and head covering, which may have given the impression that she was conservative, Gehman \u201cflowed with the times,\u201d according to Shisler. \u201cHer loyalty to EMU never wavered, even through periods of change and various cultural headwinds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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EMU President Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, along with Jasmine Hardesty, former director of development and planned giving, celebrate Margaret Martin Gehman’s 95th birthday in 2017. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

EMU President Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman<\/strong> described Gehman as \u201cone of the most interesting, engaging, joyful and nonconformist\u201d donors she\u2019s ever met. Former EMU President Dr. Loren Swartzendruber<\/strong> has praised Gehman for her \u201cincredible gift for frugality and generosity, a rare blend that you do not typically find.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was this frugality that became the stuff of legend. Today, those on campus who were lucky enough to have known her exchange stories of her resourcefulness and ingenuity with a smile. Gehman was known to keep her lights off as long as possible to save electricity. In the evenings, as the sunlight faded, passersby could spot her silhouette in the window, leaning toward the nearest streetlamp with a book in her hands to get enough light for reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your generous support helps students pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. Join us for the 9th annual LovEMU Giving Day and contribute to the scholarships that empower future EMU students. Together, we can help write EMU\u2019s next chapter. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read the previous profiles in our A Royal Tale<\/em> series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Royal Tale: Kaleb Wyse \u201910 found recipe for success at EMU<\/a><\/blockquote>