ASL Celebrates Gaynell Fowler's 95th Birthday

The Appalachian School of Law unveiled a portrait of Gaynell Street Fowler (second from left) in honor of her 95^th birthday. It will hang beside the entrance to the office of Dean Lucy McGough (third from left). Joining the celebration were Gaynell’s granddaughter Lucy Williams Bowman and daughters Pamela Fowler and Dawneda Fowler Williams.

To celebrate the 95^th birthday of longtime friend, Gaynell Street Fowler, the Appalachian School of Law unveiled a portrait of her at a surprise party on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. Approximately 100 students, faculty and staff gathered to wish her well. Shown here with (from left)  granddaughter Lucy Williams Bowman, Dean Lucy McGough, and daughters Pamela Fowler and Dawneda Fowler Williams, Gaynell was born on September 23, 1918, while her father was in Germany fighting in WWI. The oldest of 10 children born to Mae McGlothlin Street and Willie Arthur Street, she was one of only four girls in Buchanan County to attend college (Mary Washington).

Gaynell married a coal miner, Boyd Fowler, when she was 19. They eloped because her father thought coal miners were uneducated with little future. Mr. Street offered them the job of running a General Store he owned in Big Rock, VA. Their first home was a room in the back, separated by a curtain Gaynell made to separate it from the store. She handled the accounting, and Boyd returned to the mines. Eventually, he started a trucking company then obtained a coal lease and opened his first mine. Gaynell kept the books and managed the payroll, ultimately doing all the accounting for 400 employees. She continues to handle her payroll and banking transactions using only a calculator.

Always active in her community, Gaynell is a charter member of the Grundy Women’s Club, having served as president as well as regional offices. Her daughter, Dawneda, describes her as “the ultimate hostess, a great cook, gracious and hospitable, even in absentia.” The first ABA site team that evaluated ASL stayed in her home. The little girl who rode a horse behind her daddy, riding down the creek bed to see her grandparents, has traveled the world: Key West to Alaska, Mexico to Canada , Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

She is a generous donor to education and programs that help young people. Her financial support, usually given anonymously, was instrumental in assuring a successful start to the Appalachian School of Law. Her current interests include launching the Law School’s Natural Resources Law Program. She views donor support as an investment, the return on which is better-educated individuals, and expects accountability from those who steward and receive her gifts. She loves Buchanan County, and, Gaynell, WE LOVE YOU!