Once, twice, three times a first lady: Dora Heflin reflects on life as Mrs. West Virginia University

Dora Heflin knows of a West Virginia University before the existence of the PRT, Blaney House and E. Gordon Gee's first run as president. Born Dec. 28, 1912, Heflin served as WVU first lady not once, not twice, but three times.

Dora Heflin knows of a West Virginia University before the existence of the PRT, Blaney House and E. Gordon Gee’s first run as president.

Born Dec. 28, 1912, Heflin served as WVU first lady not once, not twice, but three times.

Her late husband, Harry, was acting president in 1966-67 and again in 1973. Then in 1981, he became WVU’s 18th president. That was right before Gee first became president later that year in 1981. She also served as first lady of Glenville State College for 17 years before the couple came to WVU.

Today the 101-year-old spends her time peacefully in the same Morgantown home she shared with her husband for 50 years.

She carries with her a mountain of memories, not just stacked up in her mind, but in pages and pages of scrapbooks and photo albums. On her time alongside Harry at the University, she quipped, “I felt like I always had human encyclopedias with the faculty around me.” With her wealth of experiences, Dora is the human encyclopedia now.

From the advent of the Festival of Ideas series to hosting the likes of Hubert Humphrey, author Jesse Stuart and various lawmakers, Dora has seen a bit of everything at WVU.

In this video, she will share some of her stories with you.

To this day, the Pleasants County native knows no stranger. Perhaps that’s what makes her forever a Mountaineer.

-WVU-

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