Elizabeth Snider Vornold

is honored with a Brick from Peggy J. Anderson.

"I know you can do it!" was a frequent phrase I heard growing up. I think my mother, Elizabeth Vornold, really believed that; or at least I thought she did all the many times she said it to me. If she was so sure I could, then why was I doubting myself? Under this umbrella of encouragement, three children grew in trust and confidence in life's possibilities.

From Norborne, a little town in northwest Missouri, a young bride followed her husband to Fargo, North Dakota, to start her married life and a family. Frigid, rugged winters there and her spouse's early death changed what she thought would be a simple path into a complicated obstacle course which she had to maneuver alone. She then had to believe in herself the way she believed in her children. She endured with amazing grace, moved back to a warmer climate (Overland Park, Kansas), raised her children alone, and with only a high school education, rose to become one of the few women to serve as a loan officer at lnterstate Federal Savings and Loan Association in Kansas City, Kansas.

My mother's precious smile, her positive outlook on life, and her sense of justice for all will remain with me and abide in me for as long as I live. She's now 80 years old (born 11/12/17), and she inspires me to this day.

Submitted by Peggy J. Anderson, her only daughter and faculty member at Wichita State University

June 2, 1998