Polly Oyer Multi-Cultural Leadership Award

From humble beginnings to involvement in major national and international events, Polly Oyer has led an adventurous life.

The third of four children born to Illinois farmers, Edward H. and Ellen Smith Oyer, Polly grew up in the rural Metamora area.  Although her parents did not attend college, they had a great interest in Christian higher education and Goshen College.  Their mother’s brother, C. Henry Smith, was professor of history and social science 1906-13 and dean 1909-13, and their father’s brother, Noah Oyer, was dean from 1924 to 1931.  (Her cousin, Professor of History Willard Smith, was also on the faculty from 1929-72.)  They encouraged Polly, Harold, Thelma and Ethel to attend GC, which all of them did.

Polly, however, was not able to finish her college at Goshen. Due to health problems at the end of her freshman year in 1932, she was forced to drop out of college. She soon moved to Colorado where she lived in the LaJunta and Colorado Springs areas from 1935-39.  There she had a full-time job while attending business college.

In June 1939 Polly moved to Phoenix, Ariz., and had several temporary jobs as a secretary and receptionist prior to beginning a long career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1940.  She started as a secretary and quickly became Chief Clerk and Office Services Manager, a position she held from 1941 until her retirement in 1975.  In that period the staff grew from six to over 100 employees.

During her years with the Phoenix FBI office it was involved in many major cases — from the hunt for Patty Hearst to the investigations of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.  An interesting aspect of her job was helping with background checks on prospective appointees to the federal government, including the President’s cabinet.

When she first moved to Phoenix a Mennonite congregation had not yet been established.  So through the years Polly became active in the American Baptist Church, working with the women’s ministries at the state and local level.  In retirement she continues to do volunteer work with church projects and offering transportation to other retirees.  She also enjoys traveling to scenic places in the southwest and visiting friends, relatives and especially nieces and nephews throughout the U.S.

Over the years, Polly has maintained her interest in Goshen College as a member of the GC Associates (a donor group whose members contribute $1000 or more each year) and now in 1995 through the establishment of a trust that will, at her death, fund scholarships for qualifying students.