Dreher, Martha Virginia

 

 

Class of 1919
Graduation essay: “Lafayette, We Are Here”

Birth: 20 Jan 1901, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina
Death: 11 Aug 1988, Winter Park, Orange County, Florida

Parents:
Jeremiah Harley Dreher (1868-1942)
Marie Shulken Dreher (1874-1955)

Siblings:
Jeremiah Daniel Dreher (1897–1899)
Marie Catherine Dreher Ackerly (1899–1978)
Josephine M Dreher Neilson (1907–1987)
Charles Augustus Dreher (1914–1964)

Spouse: Luther Virgil Schenck (1901-1938)
Marriage: 1923, Wilmington, Hanover County, North Carolina

Children:
Luther Virgil Schenck, Jr. (1924-2017)
Jeremiah Dreher Schenck (1925-2003)
Jay Ernest Schenck (1928-2004)
Martha Virginia Schenck Chamblee (1928-2002)

Burial: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, USA
Source: www.findagrave.com, #139321794.

____________

Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, NC), 29 Nov 1923, p. 9.

MISS SWINK ATTENDS A WEDDING IN WILMINGTON

Miss Catherine Swink, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Swink, of this city, was one of the bridesmaids at the marriage Tuesday evening of Luther Virgil Schenck, son of Mrs. Bertha Schenck and Miss Martha Dreher, of Wilmington. Miss Schenck and Gordon Schenck were attendants in the wedding.

The vows were spoken at St. Paul’s Lutheran church in Wilmington, Dr. E. M. Keever officiating. The church was lovely with its decorations of palms, smilax and cathedral candles. Mrs. E. Schalken rendered the wedding music. The Wilmington Star gives this report of the nuptials:

The bride’s gown of white crepe back satin was trimmed with real lace and made in the draped mode. Her train was of chiffon and crepe back satin edged with beads and crystals. The veil which was trimmed with real lace was worn coronet fashion with an orange blossom arrangement. She was escorted and given in marriage by her father, Dr. J. H. Dreher. She carried a shower bouquet of Bride roses and valley lilies.

Attending the bride were a maid of honor, Miss Marie Dreher, four bridesmaids, Miss Virginia Schenck, of Greensboro, Miss May Catherine Swink, of Winston-Salem, Miss Emelia Bissenger and Miss Grace Shepard, both of Wilmington, and a flower girl, Miss Margaret Banck.

The maid of honor wore orchid chiffon and carried a shower bouquet of tiny orchid chrysanthemums. All the bridesmaids’ gowns were of peach chiffon with trimmings of silver ribbons. They were silver bandeaux caught at both sides of the head by chiffon roses and carried arm bouquets of orchid chrysanthemums tied with peach and orchid tulle.

The flower girl was dainty in a frock of peach chiffon trimmed with lace. The little ribbon bearers were Miss Hortense Glover and Charles Dreher, small brother of the bride.

As his attendants the groom had four groomsmen, John Bonitz, Carl Oldenbuttel, William Marhler and Carl Marhler, and a best man Gordon Schenck, of Greensboro, his brother.

Following the ceremony a reception was held at the home of the bride on Princess street.

After a wedding trip north Mr. and Mrs. Schenck will be at home in Greensboro. Mr. Schenck is purchasing agent for Vick Chemical company and is prominently known in business and social circles of the city.

____________

News and Record (Greensboro, NC), 14 Aug 1988, p. B6.

MRS. MARTHA SCHENCK

Mrs. Martha Dreher Schenck, 87, of Winter Park Towers, Winter Park, Fla., and formerly of Greensboro, died Thursday at Winter Park Towers where she resided for the past six years. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church, of which she was a member. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Mrs. Schenck was the widow of L. Virgil Schenck. She was a native of Wilmington and a former employee at First Home Federal. She was the co-founder of the Martha D. Schenck/Della Phillips Chair on American Private Enterprise at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla.

The family will be at Hanes-Lineberry Funeral Home North Elm Street 7-8 p.m. Sunday, at other times at the home of daughter, Mrs. Martha S Chamblee, 1604 Beachtree Road.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.

____________

The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), 12 Aug 1988, p. C-6.

MARTHA VIRGINIA DREHER SCHENCK, 87, 1111 S. Lakemont Ave., Winter Park, died Thursday. Born in Wilmington, N.C., she moved to Winter Park from Greensboro, N.C., in 1963. She was a homemaker. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Maitland. She was a co-founder of the Martha D. Schenck, Della Phillip Chair in American Private Enterprise at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. Survivors: sons, Jay E., Winter Park, L. Virgil, Cocoa Beach, Jerry D., Orlando; daughter, Martha S. Chamblee, Greensboro; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren. Cox-Parker Carey Hand Guardian Chapel, Orlando.
____________
Memories of Mont Amoena Facebook.com group page.
By Denise Steward McLain
Sisters Marie and Martha Dreher, natives of Wilmington, NC, both graduated from Mont Amoena in 1921. Martha married L. Virgil Schenck in 1923. The couple made their home in Greensboro, where they had four children. When Virgil died at age 37, Martha was left to raise their young family. She worked first as a school secretary and later as a receptionist at First Home Federal Savings and Loan.
In 1954, Martha’s sons, Jay and Virgil, Jr., founded the Schenck Company in Orlando, Florida. The business grew into one of the largest independent, family-owned beverage and Miller Brewing distributorships in the United States. Martha joined her sons in Orlando in 1963. As prominent local business leaders, the Schencks became deeply invested in the economic growth and educational development of the Orlando community.
In 1981, Jay and Virgil, Jr., with support from Dr. Phillips Charities, established the Martha D. Schenck/Della Phillips Chair on American Private Enterprise at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Barry S. Miller College of Business. The endowed faculty position was created to promote teaching, research, and community understanding of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and business leadership.
Martha was particularly passionate about educating young people about the principles of a free-market economy. According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel on April 16, 1989, her commitment to economic education extended beyond the UCF chair. The Martha D. Schenck Private Enterprise Education Award, presented through UCF’s Center for Economic Education, honored local public-school teachers who successfully taught children the foundational principles of economics.
Martha Dreher Schenck died in 1988, but her legacy, and that of her family, lives on in central Florida. Her story is a fine example of the enduring impact of Mont Amoena’s graduates.