Sixteen members of the Glenville State College class of 1960 were honored along with the current class of 2010 during the 136th Commencement Ceremony held on Saturday, May 8th at the Jesse R. Lilly Jr. Gymnasium.

Fifty year graduates who returned to the GSC campus to take part in the celebration included: Bob Blagg of Canal Winchester, Ohio; Dr. Ray Lewis Boggs of Point Pleasant, West Virginia; Louise Machen Byrd of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Morgantown, West Virginia; Susan Lockard Cain of Wheeling, West Virginia; Betty Ann Bennett Cusack of Wheeling, West Virginia; Jack Alan Deem of Lewisburg, Ohio; Anna Belle Sheets Gillespie of Milton, West Virginia; Phyllis Jean Veith Johnson of Baltimore, Ohio; James Roydice Jones of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Mary Jo Chisler Jones of Spencer, West Virginia; Shirley Gail Ratliff of Rupert, West Virginia; Andrew Jackson Reed of Glenville, West Virginia; Wanda Bailey Reed of Glenville, West Virginia; Jane Anne Riddle Richter of Athens, Ohio; Berna Marita Shawver Spencer of Lilburn, Georgia; and Fred L. Taylor of Spencer, West Virginia.

The honorees were treated to campus tours on Friday afternoon, a reception hosted by GSC President Dr. Peter Barr and his wife Betsy at the President’s house, followed by a banquet in the Mollohan Campus Community Center Ballroom. Each fifty year graduate received a ‘goody bag’ filled with GSC souvenirs and memorabilia at the dinner, and were presented Honorary Medallions during the Commencement Ceremony.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our 50 year graduates to visit with their former classmates, reminisce about their time at Glenville State College, and renew past friendships. The College’s recognition of these graduates’ accomplishment of 50 years ago is a small tribute and our way of recognizing their lifetime connection to Glenville State College,” said Debbie Nagy, Special Assistant to the President/Director of Alumni Affairs.

Glenville State College began the tradition of honoring fifty year graduates at the school’s annual commencement ceremony in the spring of 2000.