 Ann James Manly was a member of the Fredonia College Council for 17 years, and a true friend of the university and its students. |
SUNY Fredonia mourns the loss of Ann James Manly of Fredonia, a member of the Fredonia College Council for 17 years and a true friend of the university and its students. Mrs. Manly was widely known for her compassion, leadership, generosity of spirit and friendship to members of the campus community.
Mrs. Manly passed away Sunday (Nov. 7) at Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., after a brief illness.
Mrs. Manly was first appointed to the Fredonia College Council in September 1993 and in 2005 was re-appointed by Governor George Pataki for a term to end in June 2012. She was also a College Council representative on the SUNY Fredonia Presidential Search Committee and gave the Welcome and Salutation on behalf of the council at the 1997 inauguration of President Dennis L. Hefner.
"Ann Manly was a valued and trusted member of the College Council for nearly two decades," President Hefner said. "Her service to this university and her commitment to our students are legendary. She was a wonderful friend, and her presence and wise counsel will be sorely missed."
Mrs. Manly and her husband, Douglas, who survives, have assisted many students as benefactors through the Fredonia College Foundation. Several of these scholarship recipients have developed deep friendships with the Manlys which remain to this day. Scholarships the couple has supported include the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership Program, and the David E. Manly Scholarship, which they established in memory of their late son to benefit upper level students who show achievement in languages, foreign studies and campus leadership. Mrs. Manly also recently established the T.J. Summers Scholarship in memory of her great-uncle to provide support to students from the Harlem Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City. The Manly’s son, James, is a principal at Harlem Success Academy Charter School 2, and the school’s mission is to ensure that every Harlem Success scholar graduates from college.
In 1998, Mrs. Manly was a recipient of the Fredonia College Foundation’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, and in 2009 was honored by Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County for over 40 years of service and commitment to that organization as one of its first tutors. The Fredonia Alumni Association recognized Mrs. Manly as a “Friend of Fredonia,” and earlier this year the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation honored the Manlys with its George B. Weaver Jr. Footprints Award.
Originally from Marietta, Ohio, Mrs. Manly received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Marietta College before moving to New York and attending Syracuse University, where she earned a Master of Arts degree. She moved to Fredonia and worked as a guidance counselor/teacher at Fredonia Junior High School. She had also worked as a teacher and counselor in West Hartford, Conn., and Marietta.
Very active in the local community, Mrs. Manly participated in the university’s Festival Chorus, and served on the boards of the Fredonia Chamber Players and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. She also served as member of the university’s AIDS Committee, chaired the AIDS Family Support Group of Northern Chautauqua County, and made presentations on AIDS prevention to over 100 public school groups. Mrs. Manly was also devoted to the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County.
She and Mr. Manly are the parents of five children, Mark, Marilyn, Susan, James, and the late David Manly, and have several grandchildren.
