When the Weir family lost their matriarch suddenly in October 2022, they quickly determined how to share her legacy with others in an impactful way—by establishing a scholarship at Newman University in her honor.
Glenna earned a degree in elementary education in 1971 from Wichita State University. She began her teaching career in the Wichita Catholic School District at St. Margaret Mary where she encountered and befriended the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC) sisters. Glenna and the love of her life, John Weir, were married for 55 years.
“That’s when she made her ‘transition to maturity,’” John said. “Father Ivan Eck gave her her first teaching job after she student taught second graders at Garrison Elementary School. The elderly lady she taught with was absolutely marvelous. That just made all the difference in the world to Glenna.”
“There are all kinds of different connections with priests and the ASC sisters even after all these years,” John said. “Newman is pretty special.”
Glenna taught preschool at East Heights United Methodist Church, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas and Blessed Sacrament Catholic School. Even after retiring in 2006, she continued to teach every day.
Establishing a scholarship
Glenna was an educator through and through. Her impact was widespread, and yet she never received an academic scholarship and “didn’t get the best grade in children’s literature,” daughter Angie McCoy explained. “But she was phenomenal at spreading children’s literature in her classes where she taught kindergarten, preschool, second grade and under.”
This is why, for the Weir Education Award, John and Angie chose not to tie a GPA requirement into the scholarship.
“GPA doesn’t define you as a teacher and it doesn’t really define you as a student,” Angie said. “If you graduate you can go out and make all kinds of differences. We didn’t want to tie it to a GPA because we’re not so sure mom would’ve gotten through if her career was tied to a GPA.”
Angie is convinced that student recipients of the scholarship will have an impact on future students just as her mother did on thousands of her own students over the years.
“It’s nice to know that my mom’s legacy is helping them achieve that and the difference they’re going to be able to make in this world,” Angie said.
Through the Weir Education Award, current students at Newman University directly benefit and are inspired by Glenna’s impact. At a recent scholarship luncheon, donors like the Weir family met scholarship recipients face to face.
Allie Johnson, a sophomore education major, has always wanted to be a teacher. Access to scholarships like the Weir Education Award at Newman University makes that dream more attainable.
“I’ve had so many special impacts growing up from my teachers,” Johnson said. “So knowing that Mrs. Weir made an impact on her students, I strive to make that same kind of impact, especially in a kindergarten classroom where I want to teach.”
Glenna was a loving teacher, grandmother, mother and wife. For the Weir family, “It’s a blessing to share her memory with others.”
For more information on how you can share the memory of a loved one with a named scholarship at Newman University, please contact University Advancement at 316-942-4291 Ext 2163 or advancement@newmanu.edu.
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