If you’ve 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’re likely already familiar with the name Dr. Margaret Martin Gehman. What you might be less familiar with is the legacy of generosity and selfless service she embodied at 91����Ƶ.

Gehman received a two-year degree from 91����Ƶ 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 91����Ƶ’s 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 “91����Ƶ Philanthropist of the Year” award. She died in August 2019 at age 97. 

Nearly a half-dozen years after her passing, Gehman’s boundless generosity continues to flourish and shape lives at 91����Ƶ. 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.

While the fund previously supported one to two students each year, it can now benefit at least five students annually, according to Kirk Shisler ’81, vice president for advancement. “Margaret loved 91����Ƶ,” he said. “She 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.”

As one example of her love for 91����Ƶ, look no further than the time she donated her beloved 1967 blue Volkswagen Beetle in 2010 to support student scholarships. “91����Ƶ has been good to me over the years, and this is another way I can express my appreciation,” she said in an article about the donation. 

Shisler said the latest gift from her estate brings Gehman’s total contributions to 91����Ƶ to just under $2 million. “This puts an exclamation point on her many decades of support,” he said.

In a 2012 article celebrating her 90th birthday, Gehman credited her parents with “teaching the value of a lifestyle of simplicity and generosity.” “The Lord … has blessed me with the ability to serve and the opportunity to share with others,” she said. 

For much of her time at 91����Ƶ, Gehman was affectionately known as “Speedy.” 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. “She would dash across campus between classes,” Shisler said. “She would practically run from one place to another.”

Even in her later years, the speed never left her. Braydon Hoover ’11, MAOL ’21, vice president for enrollment and long-time advancement professional at 91����Ƶ, recalled watching his wife, Heidi Hoover ’10, escort Gehman to the art gallery named after her. “I will never forget the image of ‘Speedy,’ at 94 years old, taking off down the hallway with my dear spouse having to jog to keep up with her, walker and all,” he said. Hoover, like many on 91����Ƶ’s advancement team, also knew the longtime donor by another name: “Saint Margaret.”

One lesser-known detail about “Saint Margaret” was her love for lending money to people and organizations in need. On several occasions, Shisler said, she loaned money to 91����Ƶ to fund certain projects. “Sometimes, she would turn around and forgive those loans, converting them into outright gifts,” he added.

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 91����Ƶ 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 “flowed with the times,” according to Shisler. “Her loyalty to 91����Ƶ never wavered, even through periods of change and various cultural headwinds,” he said.

91����Ƶ President Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman described Gehman as “one of the most interesting, engaging, joyful and nonconformist” donors she’s ever met. Former 91����Ƶ President Dr. Loren Swartzendruber has praised Gehman for her “incredible gift for frugality and generosity, a rare blend that you do not typically find.”

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. 

Your generous support helps students pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. Join us for the 9th annual Lov91����Ƶ Giving Day and contribute to the scholarships that empower future 91����Ƶ students. Together, we can help write 91����Ƶ’s next chapter. 

Read the previous profiles in our A Royal Tale series:

In March 2017, Huxman was — thus, a fitting representative to welcome more than 240 scholars, historians and participants from 19 states and 10 countries to a conference highlighting Anabaptist women who have not just encountered borders and barriers, but crossed them as well.

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I am delighted to welcome you to 91����Ƶ, a vibrant “Christian university like no other.” We are committed in word and deed to a noble mission: “to prepare our nearly 2,000 students to serve and lead in a global context in the spirit of the Scriptures: to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.” That mission is palpable every day inside and outside the classroom, and at our other instructional sites — in Washington D.C. and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and around the world in our extensive cross-cultural engagement semester required of all students.

You arrive on our campus as we are poised to celebrate our centennial! In 1917, as America was entering the Great War, Mennonites in Virginia hatched a plan to open “a Mennonite school in the East.” Yes, I know Virginia is in the South, and 91����Ƶ is located in the western part of the state, but 91����Ƶ is east of Eden … I mean Goshen … and that’s what mattered to some Mennonites in 1917. What an amazing trajectory we’ve been on from our humble Bible and agricultural school roots.

I am delighted to welcome you to Harrisonburg — a city of about 58,000 — with three universities. Harrisonburg is known as “the Friendly City.” I hope you find this to be true.  As importantly, Harrisonburg is a diverse city — a dozen major languages are spoken here. Some of you may be familiar with the sign: “Wherever you are from, we are glad you are our neighbor.” That sign was created as a response to the chilly immigration climate that began up the road in our nation’s capital. That sign was started right here in Harrisonburg at Immanuel Mennonite Church.

I am delighted to welcome you to the Shenandoah Valley. We are nestled in and around three mountain ranges: the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies and the Appalachians — stunning vistas in every direction.

And, finally, I am delighted to welcome you to the “Crossing the Line” conference. We are all looking forward to your spirited conversations, cutting-edge research, and inspirational creative activity — taken together — all bent on exploring the intersectionality of feminism and Anabaptism; gendered identities and faith identities.

From time immemorial, women have encountered borders and boundaries, spheres and silos, restrictions and reprimands for “crossing the line,” for “breaking the glass ceiling,” and even more recently for just wanting to “lean in!”

Contemporary and ordinary examples of women “crossing boundaries” continue to abound. Just this month, I was visiting with two women leaders. We were comparing stories about being our institution’s first woman president. Inevitably, the conversation turned to stories of how we navigate “the dance” between our feminism and femininity, our sense of command and compassion — and even the challenges of what to wear with which groups! And then there is the whole subtopic of shoes!

I want to leave you with two brief stories that capture the larger theme of this conference: How Anabaptist women have inventively navigated barriers arising from their gender and religious beliefs. I’ll call it the “Tale of Two Margarets.”

Tale #1: Margaret Hellwart

Here’s the first story. This one is from Switzerland in the 1600s, and it features an Anabaptist woman named Margaret Hellwart.

My colleagues at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario — Arnold Snyder and Linda Hecht Huber (Linda is here at the conference) — neatly retell Margaret’s story in their book, Profiles of Anabaptist Women.

Margaret Hellwart was an unusual, persecuted Anabaptist hero. Her story begins in 1608 in Beutelsbach, Switzerland. She was one of several energetic, recently converted Anabaptist women. Her husband was not. When state authorities discovered her proselytizing, they devised a method that they were sure would stop her ministry: They chained Margaret to her home. Thus, the reasoning went, she could prepare food and look after her children, but could not leave the house.

Believe it or not, this chaining was carried out no fewer than 21 times over the course of 11 years between 1610 and 1621. Margaret, you see, was the original escape artist. Because no sooner had the chains been put on her ankle and fastened to the floor, she was free again. The authorities suspected that her husband or a sympathetic neighbor woman helped her. She disregarded the order to receive no visitors to her home. She continued to win female converts to the Anabaptist movement, sneaking out when she was less likely to be spotted.

Surprisingly, Margaret did not leave for Moravia to escape the constant harassment, like most of the other Anabaptists in the area did during this time. She stayed, not to renounce her faith but to face down her persecutors, cheerfully, with a smile on her face, the records indicate, year after year after year. After 1621, the records on Margaret Hellwart fall silent. She was then 53 and by the standards of the time, old. There seems no doubt she got her wish to die as an Anabaptist.

In what disarming and brazen ways this Margaret “crossed the line” to defend her faith. She risked everything, giving new meaning to the expression: “Nevertheless, she persisted!”

#2: Margaret (‘Speedy’) Martin Gehman

This second story is about a remarkable Anabaptist woman right here at 91����Ƶ. Since you will be spending some time at this conference in an and since you will be spending time in and out of many buildings on this campus that Margaret helped finance or gifted us, I thought you might be interested in the ways this Margaret has and continues to cross all kinds of barriers — with great speed!

Margaret grew up in a very conservative Mennonite home. From early on, she loved her faith and she loved to run! She wore out so many girls’ shoes — they were flimsy “slippers,” she said, so finally her dad bought her boys’ shoes — high tops. She loved them — she could run faster! But she made them more feminine-looking by cutting them down to look more graceful. And she kept running.

In 1944, plain dress, stockings, covering and all, Margaret was hired as the Eastern Mennonite School physical education teacher for boys and girls. She introduced tennis, volleyball, ping pong, basketball, tumbling and a game called speed ball — a hybrid soccer and basketball game. Margaret modeled these athletic activities with speed, finesse and fierce competitiveness to the delight and shock of her many students over the years.

Margaret developed a reputation for dashing up and down the courts, and across campus, and was called “the queen of the tennis court” — dispensing with both male and female opponents in quick order. It was her students who nick-named her “Speedy.” She did devise a less restrictive “dress” to play basketball and tennis in — a “coolot” — she called it. And she said: “No one told me I couldn’t wear it.” Margaret became a dramatic example of the old adage: “Do not be deceived by appearances!”

In 1962, Margaret left for Vanderbilt University to earn her doctorate in physical education. She was the only woman in the class and, as she said, “I must have looked a sight to these mostly Southern gentlemen — who at that time relaxed by smoking and drinking while I — the most wicked thing I did was drink milk from a straw.” While at Vanderbilt, she also earned a minor in art — with a specialty in water colors. And so she taught art here at 91����Ƶ too.

In 1967, unbeknownst to colleagues, Margaret married E. G. Gehman, who taught German at 91����Ƶ. They were married during Mennonite World Conference in Amsterdam. (She was speedy in courtship, too, I guess.)

Modeling the most frugal of lifestyles, Margaret developed another superb skill set: wealth management and generous philanthropy to 91����Ƶ. In 2005, Margaret was honored with the Philanthropist of the Year award for her “full court” investment in 91����Ƶ: giving generously to the University fund, multiple capital campaigns and student scholarships.

Today, at age 95, Margaret lives at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. She is still witty, quick with a smile and while she uses a walker — don’t be deceived: She is still speedy! Ask some of her friends and they will tell you, “Margaret will mow you down if you don’t get out of the way!”

In an era when there were still questions about women and exertion, and perspiration, and varsity level competition, and whether women and men should play sports together, Margaret “Speedy” Martin Gehman did it her way. She “crossed the line” to live her faith, her passion for athletics and art, and her extraordinary first-fruits-giving to 91����Ƶ’s mission and people.

I hope you take sustenance from the tale of these two Margarets!

I hope you enjoy learning from each other this weekend.

I hope you find “shalom” in the Shenandoah.

Affectionately known as “Speedy” for her decades of fast-paced walking in and around 91����Ƶ’s campus, Gehman celebrated her 90th birthday on May 24, 2012, among friends and former co-workers.

“The Lord has been so good to me and has blessed me with the ability to serve and the opportunity to share with others,” said Gehman, who was one of the first women graduates of 91����Ƶ to earn a doctorate. She received hers in Art Education from George Peabody College (now Vanderbilt University) in 1962.

Gehman, who received a two-year degree from 91����Ƶ in 1942, has been a long-time contributor to 91����Ƶ. Her name adorns the two-year-old art gallery in University Commons and she has a scholarship fund that provides financial aid for physical education and art students.

presided over the afternoon festivities, which included a luncheon and time of sharing. Swartzendruber said Gehman has “an incredible gift for frugality and generosity, a rare blend that you do not typically find.”

Swartzendruber complemented Gehman for her “graceful way of understanding that things change,” while holding onto “things that are important” and “accepting those who hold different views and opinions.”

, vice president of advancement, said Gehman has contributed to several development campaigns, including nine capital projects, University Commons Phase I, Phase II and the 91����Ƶ Turf Field.

The 91����Ƶ professor emerita joined the faculty in 1944 and taught art and physical education courses until her retirement in 1987. A “” award created in 2005 bears her name.

Gehman credits her late parents for “teaching the value of a lifestyle of simplicity and generosity.”

Phil Helmuth, executive director of development at 91����Ƶ, accepts the keys and title to Margaret Martin Gehman’s 1967 VW Beetle. Have memories of Dr. Gehman or the great blue bug?

Dr. Gehman and her trusty, albeit a bit rusty, mechanical steed, a blue 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, are almost synonymous to many observers. For years she motored the streets of the greater Harrisonburg area even though she preferred walking to as many destinations as possible.

She has been a resident of Park Place at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community since 2005.

Gehman beloved at 91����Ƶ for five decades

Gehman has donated the true blue vehicle to the place where she served with distinction on the faculty for five decades. She taught art and physical education courses at 91����Ƶ from 1944 until her retirement in 1987 but continued teaching a watercolor course until 1996.

For much of that time, she carried – and exemplified – the moniker bestowed on her by a student years ago – “Speedy.”

“I wasn’t using the car very often these days and decided it was too much upkeep and not good stewardship to hang on to it,” Gehman said. “I have transportation where I need to go – including Sundays to Gospel Hill Mennonite Church in western Rockingham County – and didn’t want to either cause an accident or have someone run into me, so why not give it away?”

In so doing, she also decided to give up her driving privileges. She is also dealing with some lower back problems.

‘91����Ƶ has been good to me over the years’

“91����Ƶ has been good to me over the years, and this is another way I can express my appreciation,” said Gehman, a long-time donor to the university fund and capital projects supporter.

A “Philanthropist of the Year” award created in 2005 bears her name.

And she established the Margaret Martin Gehman Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide financial aid for physical education and art students.

The VW joined the Martin-Gehman family the same time that Margaret and Dr. Ernest G. (E.G.) Gehman were joined in marriage on July 27, 1967 at Mennonite World Conference being held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Dr. Ernest Gehman, a widower, was professor of German at 91����Ƶ and was already in Germany doing family research before they wed.

Then 91����Ƶ president Myron S. Augsburger performed the religious ceremony with the 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers providing the music.

Gehmans bought ‘bug’ brand new for $1,500

E.G. Gehman bought the blue “bug” new from the VW factory in Wolfsburg, Germany the summer of 1967. Margaret thinks the purchase price was around $1,500.

The couple also had a civil ceremony that Margaret recalled was conducted in German. “I remember saying ‘ja’ at the appropriate times,” she smiled.

The couple returned to Ernest’s home on Hillcrest Drive in Park View.

“Ernest was the principal driver at first,” Gehman said, “but he had another vehicle so the VW eventually became ‘mine.’

The longest trip she remembers taking in the VW was to Oregon in 1969 to attend Mennonite General Assembly – “Ernest had a son living there at that time,” she noted.

Ernest Gehman went on to teach German at 91����Ƶ 47 years. He died in 1988.

“The car never gave me problems over the years; it held up well going over mountain roads,” Margaret Gehman said. “It was serviced regularly but never had the engine rebuilt.”

91����Ƶ development officials are deciding whether to refurbish the car or put up for sale as is, believing there may be some interest among alumni and friends of the university in obtaining this symbol of dedicated service, durability and resolve.

When Margaret Martin Gehman gave the car to 91����Ƶ, the odometer read 175,000 miles. The car has been around the block a few times, but like its long-time owner, has more miles (and smiles) to go.

Have memories of Dr. Gehman or the great blue bug? Share them!

Margaret Martin Gehman may be retired from her long tenure on the 91����Ƶ faculty, but at age 83, she still exemplifies the moniker bestowed on her years ago – "Speedy."

Dr. Gehman’s continued work and support of the university was recognized at a donor appreciation banquet Friday, Oct. 14, with her being named the first recipient of the "Philanthropist of the Year" award.

91����Ƶ President Loren E. Swartzendruber presented Gehman with the award, citing her "long-time faithful, generous financial and other contributions to the university over the years."

"Margaret has supported the , many capital campaign projects and by establishing several gift annuities, supporting endowed scholarships, program endowments for indoor and outdoor athletics and the humanities and building endowments for Northlawn residence hall and Eastern Mennonite Seminary," Dr. Swartzendruber said.

The 91����Ƶ professor emerita joined the faculty in 1944 and taught and courses until her retirement in 1987. She continues to serve regularly as a volunteer on campus, assisting with special mailings and preparation for special events. She also volunteers at Eastern Mennonite Mennonite High School, Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, Mennonite Media Ministries and other local organizations.

While Gehman is the first recipient of the philanthropic award, she won’t be the last.

Swartzendruber announced that 91����Ƶ "will select one donor or donor couple each year from now on to receive what will be known as the ‘Margaret M. Gehman Philanthropist of the Year Award.’"

Gehman credits her late parents, J.D. Earl and Edna Martin from the Hagerstown, Md., area, for "teaching the value of a lifestyle of simplicity and generosity."

Gehman still drives the same blue 1967 Volkswagen Beatle. Her late husband, Dr. Ernest G. Gehman, taught German at 91����Ƶ for 47 years.