2020 William McVay
William G. McVay was born on a Carroll County farm in 1930, the sixth child of William and Myrtle (Wilburn) McVay. Bill had a challenging early life due to being born with a club foot, and the death of his father when he was four. His mother vowed to keep their family farm for her children, and the family worked together, raising livestock. Bill’s family left their farm and moved to Camden when Bill was sixteen. His proximity to the school gave him more opportunities, and he excelled in academics, joined a local church, and enjoyed success in 4-H.
Always interested in agriculture, Bill went to Purdue University, where he studied agriculture education with the help of scholarships and Indiana Department of Vocational Rehabilitation funds. Joining Farmhouse Fraternity, Bill met other young men from similar backgrounds, many of whom became his lifelong friends. Bill graduated from Purdue in 1953, and accepted a teaching position in Whitley County, Indiana, at Washington Center High School.
Bill met Marilyn, daughter of a Whitley County farmer. The day after their 1955 marriage, the young couple returned to Purdue, where Bill got his master’s degree in agriculture education. After graduation, Bill taught for one year at Swayzee High School in Grant County but moved to South Whitley High School in Whitley County, where his wife’s family lived. Bill taught at South Whitley and later Whitko High School for 31 years.
Bill contributed significantly to the community through teaching generations of students interested in agriculture. His students have been recognized at local, state, and national levels for their animal judging prowess and leadership. Bill is very proud that many of his students continued their education after high school, also contributing to their communities and the field of agriculture.
Bill has received multiple awards, including national Vocational Teacher of the Year, runner-up State Teacher of the Year, from Purdue College of Agriculture. Bill worked with two Purdue professors on a high school textbook, “Farm and Ranch Management.” After retirement from teaching in 1987, Bill served as the State Fair Board Hog Chairman and has continued to support Purdue University College of Agriculture, Farmhouse Fraternity, FFA, 4-H, and his communities of faith. The McVay’s have also provided scholarship funds to deserving Purdue students for more than 30 years.
Bill and his wife, who died in 2012, have two children, Andy, West Lafayette, a retired Kent Feeds salesman, and Amy, Newburgh, Indiana, a retired healthcare executive.
March 03, 2020
