MSU board of governors' 1st female president Ramona McQueary has died

Ramona McQueary, the first female president of Missouri State University's Board of Governors, died Saturday, June 29, at 93 years old, according to her family.

While she graduated from what was then Southwest Missouri State University in May 1952, she and her husband, Frederick "Fred" M. McQueary , never really left the university.

"I sometimes jokingly say that my mother adopted Missouri State University as her fourth child," said her son Dr. Fred G. McQueary. "She never had to face empty nest syndrome because she always had a child or an organization she was focused on trying to improve."

Involvement in MSU was really a family affair: Fred G. McQueary remembers his mother taking food to the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house and grew up attending Bears games with his two brothers, Mark and David. All three brothers have been on MSU boards at one time or another as adults.

“Ramona McQueary was a giant in our community and at Missouri State. She was our first female chair of the Board of Regents, has her family name on a college and led in fundraising work for the Foundation," said former MSU president Clif Smart. "She will be missed tremendously."

In 1973, Ramona McQueary became a member of the alumni association board of directors and the second woman to be appointed to the university's board of governors, according to The Southwest Missourian . That appointment came at the same time as her sons were finishing high school or attending college.

"She transferred all her energy from raising three boys to raising a university," Fred G. McQueary said. He completed his masters degree at MSU at the same time his mother was on the board, and she handed him his diploma at graduation.

During her tenure as president in 1978, student enrollment hit a record of nearly 15,000. Additionally, during that time the Hammons Student Center and Duane Meyer Library were put into service. In 1981, she was named to the MSU Foundation board.

The McQueary family also made significant financial contributions to the university. Both the McQueary Family Health Sciences Hall and the McQueary College for Health and Human Services are named after them.

"If you name a building at the university (campus) that's been built in the last 50 years, they probably contributed significantly financially to the construction of that building," Fred G. McQueary said.

More: As MSU President Clif Smart exits, he reflects on his legacy and future plans

Bettering her community 'in any way she could'

While she is best known for her work at MSU, McQueary's influence stretched beyond just higher education.

"My brothers and I didn't fully appreciate her impact on others in the community until later," Fred G. McQueary said. "The number of women in leadership positions in Springfield over the last, gosh, 30 years who have commented to my brothers and I about how impactful she was to these other women as a role model — the numbers are quite interesting."

The late attorney Virginia Fry, who served on the MSU Board of Governors in 2014, recalled seeing Ramona McQueary serve on the then-Board of Regents while she was attending MSU, according to previous Springfield News-Leader reporting.

“I thought to myself, ‘That must be a strong woman,’” Fry said.

McQueary was a member of PEO Sisterhood , the Philanthropic Educational Organization, which provides educational opportunities for women internationally.

In 1983, McQueary served as president of the Burrell Behavioral Health Center's board of directors, according to past News-Leader reporting . During that time, Burrell moved to its location on Primrose Avenue.

"She was just always interested in betterment of the community in any way she could," Fred G. McQueary.

Ramona McQueary was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Fred M. McQueary. She is survived by her three sons, Dr. Fred G. McQueary and his wife, Terri, Mark McQueary and his partner, Blaine Broderick, and David McQueary; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; extended family and many friends.

Service arrangements will be announced later through Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. A public memorial service will take place later in July.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: MSU board of governors' 1st female president Ramona McQueary has died