Emory & Henry receives largest-ever gift
By Dirk Moore
EMORY Va. Charles Emory Bryant, who attended Emory & Henry College from 1879 to 1880, was devoted to his eight daughters and to the notion – not common in his day – that young women should be well educated.
Recently, his youngest daughter, Anna Bryant Thompson, honored her father, his ideals and Emory & Henry with a $10 million bequest, the largest gift to the college in its 167-year history.
Thompson, who died Nov. 21 at the age of 98, has designated the entire amount of her gift toward a scholarship fund in her father's memory.
“Emory & Henry is extremely touched by this generous gift,” said E&H President Thomas R. Morris. “Anna Thompson's life was an example of commitment to the value of higher education, and her generosity expressed through this gift is a great honor for our college community.”
A businesswoman who studied fashion design in New York City and Europe, Thompson was the owner of a dress shop in Richmond, Va., for many years. According to her niece, Mildred Tompkins, Thompson was an astute investor during the time she ran her business and later in retirement as she managed her resources.
After graduating from Marion College, a two-year college for women in Marion, Va., which closed in the 1970s, Thompson studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York City before heading to Paris to continue her education in the fashion business. Before starting her own shop, she worked as a buyer for the Thalhimer Brothers department store in Richmond.
She was married to Charles Thompson, the owner of a Richmond flour mill, who preceded her in death.
Tompkins described her aunt as an early “women's libber” who loved her husband, her home, decorating and her work.”
Her large gift to Emory & Henry is a natural extension of her interest in the future of young people, Tompkins said. “She believed she could make a big difference in helping young people by supporting Emory & Henry. She always has liked helping young people who wanted to make the best of their lives through a good education.”
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