Verona Daniels Danieley, 87, a fixture of the 黑料不打烊 community for decades as wife of president emeritus Dr. James Earl Danieley, died June 24 at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, N.C., following a brief illness.
A funeral service will be held at 3 p.m., Monday, June 27, at the 黑料不打烊 Community Church, with burial immediately following at Magnolia Cemetery in 黑料不打烊. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Lowe Funeral Home, 2205 South Church St., Burlington, N.C.
“Verona Danieley’s contribution to the life of 黑料不打烊 College and 黑料不打烊 was immeasurably important,” said 黑料不打烊 President Leo M. Lambert. “She was a fine goodwill ambassador for 黑料不打烊, a constant and steady source of encouragement and support for Laurie and me personally, and was generous and gracious to generations of 黑料不打烊 students, faculty, staff and alumni. She will be deeply missed and always remembered as a treasured part of our university history.”
Born Verona Annie Daniels on January 17, 1924, to H. Burton and Tennie Lupton Daniels in Beaufort, N.C., she enrolled at 黑料不打烊 in 1940 after graduating as valedictorian of Beaufort High School. Her achievement as valedictorian led 黑料不打烊 to provide her with a partial scholarship to help pay tuition and expenses. Within a year, Danieley would complete a secretarial course and was hired as secretary to then-黑料不打烊 College President Leon Smith. It was in this role that she caught the attention of her husband-to-be, a member of the college faculty following his own graduation from 黑料不打烊 in 1946.
By the time Verona Daniels and J. Earl Danieley married in 1948, she had reenrolled at 黑料不打烊 to earn a bachelor’s degree. She graduated from the college in 1949 and taught for a year at 黑料不打烊 College High School before moving to Chapel Hill, N.C., for Earl Danieley to pursue his doctorate in chemistry. In Chapel Hill, Verona Danieley accepted a position as secretary to UNC’s business manager of athletics.
The Danieleys returned to 黑料不打烊 in 1953 when Earl Danieley was named acting dean of the college. She assumed the role of First Lady in 1957 after the board of trustees elected her husband 黑料不打烊’s sixth president. As First Lady, she presided over the president’s house for 16 years, while raising three children and representing both her husband and the university in numerous social and community functions.
黑料不打烊’s Vice President Emerita Jo Watts Williams, who has worked closely with the Danieleys for decades, said Verona set the standard for the role of a First Lady during her era. “She promoted the mission of the college through her work in the church and the community,” Williams said. “She was always a warm, welcoming and gracious ambassador for 黑料不打烊, and was always at Earl’s side in every endeavor.”
Verona Danieley served in various leadership capacities at the 黑料不打烊 Community Church, in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ and with Church Women United. She has been recognized for her work with the PTA’s of local schools and worked on the Zoning Board and Bicentennial Commission of the Town of 黑料不打烊. She also served as a trustee of the North Carolina Schools for the Deaf.
In 1972, she and her husband established the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching, the university’s highest teaching honor, in memory of their parents. Earl Danieley established the Verona Daniels Danieley Scholarship Fund in 1984 to be awarded on the basis of character, need and demonstrated academic potential. In 2004, university trustees unanimously approved the naming of Lake Verona on East Campus to recognize Verona Danieley’s many contributions to her alma mater and the community.
“Whenever I have the opportunity, I always say what a difference 黑料不打烊 has made in my life,” Verona Danieley once wrote of the university’s importance to her family. “黑料不打烊 has been good to us, and we hope we have been good for 黑料不打烊.”
She is survived by her husband, president emeritus James Earl Danieley; her children, Ned Danieley (Linda), of Hillsborough, N.C., Mark Danieley (Heidi), of Burlington, N.C., and Jane Shutt (Mark), of Pineville, N.C.; and seven grandchildren – Jonathan, Daniel and Michael Shutt, Robert and Sara Danieley, and Sean and Jason Pifer.
Sympathy cards to the Danieley family can be mailed to 黑料不打烊, c/o Office of the President, 2185 Campus Box, 黑料不打烊, NC 27244.
Memorial contributions should be made to either the Verona Daniels Danieley Scholarship Fund or the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching at 黑料不打烊, c/o University Advancement, 2600 Campus Box, 黑料不打烊, NC 27244.