REMEMBERING DANIELEY
LASTING LOVE,
LASTING LEGACIES
Danieley couple continues to
inspire Elon community
Leena Dahal
Opinions Editor
^LeenaPahai
When J. Earl Danieley was asked how he
met his late wife, Verona Danieley, at the
2014 Spring Convocation, his eyes lit up. He
smiled, readjusted himself in his iconic chair
and began to recite the story — that is, until,
he was interrupted.
A member of the audience loudly
declared, “Ugh, I love this story! This is
my favorite,” capturing the adoration many
Elon University community members have
for the couple.
It wasn’t the first time he was interrupted
when telling the story.
In a 2008 interview for a three-part series
that documents J. Earl Danieley and Verona
Daniels Danieley’s 60 years of marriage led
by University Archives, he began in a similar
way — with lit-up eyes and a big smile.
But instead of continuing, he turned to
his wife and asked, “Are you going to tell this
one or am I?”
To which she responded, laughing, “You
tell it, it’s your favorite story.”
With a smile still plastered across his
face, he continued, recounting how on one
Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1946, he
was passing through the halls of Alamance
when he noticed a young lady in the office
of the secretary of the president, standing
on a chair.
“I walked in and saved the young dam
sel. Then I took her to a football game at
Guilford,” Danieley said. “And everywhere
else with me from then on.”
Whether it the story of how they spent
their first date on a hayride, their memories
of sharing meals together in West Parlor
with the lights off to conserve electricity or
how they referred to each other as “perma
nent roommates,” these accounts of their
relationship are cherished and often remem
bered by the community.
Their relationship, which began and
flourished at Elon, and their combined pas
sion for the growth of the institution is writ
ten into Elon’s history and landscape.
Whether through the Danieley
Neighborhood or joint initiatives they have
spearheaded in the years, their fierce love
for each other and the university has led to
lasting legacies.
When J. Earl Danieley assumed the
role of president in fall 1957, for example,
Verona Daniels Danieley devoted her time
and energy to building community across
campus.
Jerry Tolley, former Elon football coach,
remembers her for her efforts to create
community among the wives of professors
at Elon.
“She really took the wives of staff and
faculty members at Elon under her wing,”
he said. “My wife especially loved her all
through her time.”
Together, they would also host faculty
dinner gatherings — inviting professors into
the warmth of their homes to foster deeper
relationships.
“I can remember seeing them walk
through campus holding hands,” Tolley
said. “Their relationship was inspiring for
all professor couples on campus.”
In 1972, the Danieley couple also joint
ly established the Daniels-Danieley Award
for Excellence in Teaching, the university’s
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley, Verona Daniels Danieley and their children pose in front of thir home, the current Holland House.
highest teaching honor, in memory of their
parents. The award has recognized the out
standing contributions of more than 40
faculty to date.
Stephen E. Braye, who received the pres
tigious award in 1998, said it served as an
affirmation that he was heading in the right
direction.
“I was honored to be nominated,” he
said. “It re-energized my commitment to
teaching.”
Following the opening of the Danieley
Center in 1999, university trustees unan
imously approved the naming of Lake
Verona in 2004 — adjacent to the neigh
borhood — to recognize Verona Daniels
Danieley’s many contributions to her alma
mater and the community.
Nancy Midgette, professor of history at
Elon University who retired in May 2016,
said she remembers the two being insepa
rable.
“You didn’t separate them in your mind
— they were always Dr. D and Mrs. D,” she
said. “They were just a pair.”
After more than 60 years of marriage,
Verona Danieley’s death in June 2011 left a
gaping hole in the community and in the life
of her widower.
“They always came to campus events
together,” Midgette recalled. “After Verona’s
death, it was clear that he remembered fond
ly and missed her dearly but that he was
accepting.”
When asked what the secret for their last
ing marriage was, J. Earl Danieley had a clear
answer: respect and honesty.
“I think that one of the secrets is having
respect for each other,” he said. “I think peo
ple who fail do because they fail to respect
each other.”
Verona Daniels Danieley concurred.
“I would hope that they see in us, the
proper attitude to take towards themselves
and other people and to be respectful.”
Veronica Daniels Danieley reads to her children in the 1960s.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES