Family Affair
FAMILY AFFAIR
PRESERVING A FAMILY LEGACY
University of Virginia founder Thomas Jefferson intended his Academical Village to serve not only as the center of the University, but also as an architectural classroom. In the spirit of Jefferson’s vision, a trust created by the late John Eagle DeLashmutt Jr. (Col ’69, Ed ’73) continues to support preservation of his beloved alma mater and provides others with the opportunity to study at the University of Virginia.
“John was a big fan of Jefferson,” said his cousin Anna Grinder (McIntire ’91, Grad Arts & Sciences ’93), who administers the John Eagle DeLashmutt Jr. Charitable Trust along with her brother Chris DeLashmutt. “We have a long family history in Charlottesville and at UVA,” she said. “It’s near and dear to many of us. My father went to UVA, my brother went, and my grandfather was there.”
A PASSION FOR ARCHITECTURE AND EDUCATION
DeLashmutt—more like an uncle than a cousin to Anna and Chris—left Northern Virginia to attend UVA in the mid-1960s. “He just fell in love with it when he got there,” Grinder said. He particularly enjoyed the Lawn. “John was very much a student of history and had a great interest in architecture,” she said. “He used to do a lot of sketching and that sort of thing on his own. He had a great appreciation for Jefferson and for the historic buildings. He absolutely loved the Rotunda.”
John DeLashmutt’s passion for education and architecture lives on through a trust that supports UVA scholarships and historic preservation.
As much as he treasured the University’s historic buildings, DeLashmutt was equally passionate about education. “He believed very strongly in education and believed that UVA was an elite institution,” Grinder said.
After earning his bachelor’s degree and a master’s of education, DeLashmutt put his beliefs and training into action by moving to Webster Springs, West Virginia, where, for many years, he taught in a one-room schoolhouse. “He wanted to help kids to achieve,” Grinder said.
Grinder says that true to form, DeLashmutt developed a network of friends in West Virginia, but returned to Northern Virginia to be closer to family. Once back home, he opened a travel agency to share yet another interest—travel—with others.
Throughout his career and into retirement, DeLashmutt stayed connected to the University he adored and the friends he made there. “Even up to when he died, he was still in touch with many of them,” Grinder said. “He loved people and just conversing, sometimes debating. Anyone who liked to think and liked to talk, he liked to be around.”
Grinder and her husband would often join DeLashmutt on his travels to Charlottesville for football games. Those trips strengthened the bonds between Grinder and her cousin. “John was just a wonderful person with a big heart and a great sense of humor and he was very, very intelligent. We really loved him, and I was really happy to be able to spend as much time with him as we did.”
John was very passionate about, as he put it, ‘If there’s a kid that that deserves to go to UVA and is smart enough but can't afford it, I want to make sure they can go.’
– ANNA GRINDER
CARRYING IT FORWARD
That connection led DeLashmutt to approach Anna Grinder and her brother, Chris, about his estate plans. “About five years before he passed, he sat down with us,” Grinder said. “He was very passionate about his wishes, and he asked if the two of us would ensure that they were carried out.”
More than a decade after his death, the John DeLashmutt Jr. Charitable Trust continues to support scholarships and historic preservation at UVA. It has provided funding for restoration and maintenance of the Rotunda, the University Chapel, Pavilion VIII, and Cobb Hall.
The trust also supports undergraduate financial aid through the AccessUVA program. “John was very passionate about, as he put it, ‘If there’s a kid that that deserves to go to UVA and is smart enough but can't afford it, I want to make sure they can go,’” said Grinder.
She and her brother are proud to continue their cousin’s legacy. “He was such a believer in education that it doesn’t surprise me that he wanted to be able to have an impact on the University,” she said. “He didn’t get to see some of it through, so it's nice to be able to do it for him.”
Grinder says her cousin preferred to stay behind the scenes. “He just wanted to have an impact, and those were the things that were important to him: education and historic preservation. He would be really happy to know how much of a difference his giving has made,” she said.
Bernard and Camille Hess were one of the first UVA alumni couples married in the University Chapel. Their son Andy and his wife supported the building’s recent renovation.
A FAMILY HESS STORY
The Hess family also has deep ties to Charlottesville and the University. Andy Hess has researched and documented his family roots in his book “My Way,” which details over 300 years of his family’s history and their journey from eight countries in Europe, eventually settling in Virginia between the early 1600s and the early 1700s.
Their story first intersected with the University more than a century ago. His father Bernard A. Hess (Engr 1922) and his mother Camille Robinson Hess (Grad Arts & Sciences 1922) both graduated from UVA. “She was one of the first women to receive a degree from the University,” Hess said. Through his research, Hess determined that his uncle, George William Hess, graduated with a B.S. in Commerce in 1924.
RETURNING TO THE PAST
Hess also confirmed that, in 1930, his parents were one of the first UVA alumni couples married at the University Chapel. (No official records exist of weddings held there.) The couple met while they were teaching high school in Selma, North Carolina.
Over the years, Hess and his wife Lidia Smentek, members of the Rotunda Society, have supported the University in many ways, including making annual contributions to the endowments of lectureships initially funded by Hess’ parents in the departments of English and Chemical Engineering in the 1980s.
Having learned about the renovation of the Chapel, in honor of his parents, Hess and his wife supported the project. The building, constructed in 1890, underwent a comprehensive, 13-month, $2.5 million renovation. Wood surfaces were refinished, the interior walls were painted with a Victorian palette, and the lighting and sound systems were upgraded.
When work was completed in 2024, Brian Hogg (Col ’83), senior historic preservation planner with the Office of the Architect, said the renovated building “would be familiar to anyone who was here in the building’s first 50 years.” That would include Bernard and Camille Hess.
“My mother was always saying, ‘We were married in the University Chapel.’ It was very important to her,” Hess said. “It’s a part of our family history.”
Thanks to Hess and his wife and others, the University Chapel is ready to host memorable moments for future generations. Hess remembers visiting the Chapel with his parents. He said, “I've seen some photos of the renovated space and it’s really nice. My parents would be delighted it’s back to the way it was when they got married.”