Love Beyond Loss: Presnals' story transcends tragedy and supports OSU
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
An unexpected loss and a weary heart were not enough to keep a widowed father of two young children from fighting for hope and happiness for his family.
In 1975, Glade Presnal lost his first wife and the mother of his two children. After the loss, the soldier took his things and relocated from West Berlin, Germany, to Fort Riley near Manhattan, Kansas, to be closer to his family.
Raising two children on his own, Presnal felt he was ready to re-enter the dating scene.
“It had been two years since losing my wife,” Presnal said. “I knew I had to get on with my life.”
Presnal asked his boss at the time if he or his wife knew of anyone who would be a good match for him.
His boss’s wife connected him with one of her co-workers at Kansas State University, Faye Ann Price.
“I was shocked when Faye Ann first opened the door,” Presnal said. “Back then, if a woman was not married by 32, you might wonder what she would be like. When she opened the door, she was very pretty and put me at ease.”
As the daughter of Robert Price, former head of the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education, Faye Ann Price Presnal learned to believe in the importance of education from her father, she said.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OSU and taught in public schools, teaching underserved children from low-income neighborhoods in Kansas City and New Jersey before making her way to Manhattan, Kansas. After 32 years of investing in herself and her career, she decided she was ready to go on a date.
“Glade took me to the Kansas State versus Oklahoma State basketball game,” Faye Ann Presnal said. “It showed me that he was being considerate and thinking about what I might like to do.”
Although the couple continued to go on dates, Glade Presnal waited six weeks to introduce Faye Ann Presnal to his children.
“I had the two cutest children,” Glade Presnal said as Faye Ann Presnal shook her head in agreement. “I didn’t want Faye Ann to meet them and decide she wanted me because of the kids.”
Glade Presnal’s concerns did not seem to be an issue, he said. However, being an early childhood specialist, Faye Ann Presnal knew how to be sensitive to the children’s needs after losing their mother, she said.
“It turned out to be something that maybe was divinely planned,” Faye Ann Presnal said.
The couple quickly knew they wanted to be together, Glade Presnal said. Three months following the couple’s first date, he asked her to be his wife.
“She teases that I just wanted someone to watch the kids, but that’s not true at all,” Glade Presnal said with a smirk. “The fact that she worked in early education certainly helped with the kids, but I wanted to marry her because I loved her.”
On July 23, 1977, the couple exchanged vows and got married.
After getting married, Glade Presnal taught ROTC at KSU and later felt called to pursue his doctorate in international education.
On a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to visit Faye Ann Presnal’s family, Glade Presnal inquired with Bob Terry about furthering his education but discovered OSU did not have an international education program. Terry, who at the time was the agricultural education department head, told Glade Presnal he would put together a program, Glade Presnal said.
“When Dr. Terry offered that to me, I knew OSU was where I would want to be,” Glade Presnal said.
The couple packed up their things and moved to Stillwater where Glade Presnal earned his doctorate.
“We thought we would be leaving once he got his degree,” Faye Ann Presnal said. “Then, I was offered a position at OSU.”
The couple stayed in Stillwater, both working in education at OSU and following in the footsteps of Robert Price, she said, who was one of the couple’s greatest inspirations. Price believed in supporting students, modernizing education and was far ahead of his time, Faye Ann Presnal said.
“Robert was interested in the future of education,” Glade Presnal said. “He would be thrilled about the New Frontiers building and what it allows.”
Heidi Williams, senior associate vice president of principal gifts at the OSU Foundation, helped the couple find a way to honor Price.
“Faye Ann and Glade had an interest in naming the office of the agricultural education, communications and leadership department head after Price,” Williams said. “However, someone had already named it at the time.”
Knowing how important the naming opportunity was to the Presnals, Williams checked back on the status of the room, she said.
“The original donors ended up changing their space,” Williams said. “It felt like the best news ever to deliver to Faye Ann and Glade.”
After the couple decided to contribute to the New Frontiers capital campaign to support a new home for the Ferguson College of Agriculture, they invited their family members to donate toward the named space to honor Price, Williams said.
“Decades from now, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren and my father’s former students will be able to come in and see his name on the wall and will see a building that exemplifies everything he believed in,” Faye Ann Presnal said.
The couple provide a perfect example of the Cowboy spirit, Williams said. They are dedicated and devoted to their family and making OSU a stronger university by enhancing the Cowboy experience, she added.
With loyal hearts and giving souls, the couple has navigated life with a specific quote, Glade Presnal said: “You are going to have some highs and lows. You should be prepared to enjoy the highs, get through the lows, and never give up.”
Story by: Faith Richards | Cowboy Journal