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“Investing in the interest of both the students and the university warms my heart. It’s my way of expressing thanks to W&L.” Thomas Brockenbrough ’41

Thomas Brockenbrough ’41 is the oldest and most loyal donor to Washington and Lee’s Annual Fund.

Writing his check each year allows the 104-year-old alumnus to remember and pay homage to the school that means so much to him. “Investing in the interest of both the students and the university warms my heart,” Brockenbrough said. “It’s my way of expressing thanks to W&L.”

Growing up in Buena Vista, Brockenbrough attended many W&L athletic events with his family during childhood, which made the university an easy choice for college. Inspired by his father, who was a construction superintendent, he decided to transfer to Virginia Tech in 1939 to earn a degree in civil engineering.

After graduation, Brockenbrough put his engineering skills to work by helping to design airplanes for the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, as a way of supporting his country during World War II. Additionally, he took night classes for graduate school. Once the war ended in 1945, he enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a Master of Science in civil engineering in just one year.

Brockenbrough worked for Douglas Aircraft Company in California for three years before changing careers and returning to Virginia Tech as an associate professor. In 1953, he accepted a job at the University of Delaware, where he served for 35 years in various roles, including two terms as department chair and one term as assistant dean of the College of Engineering. Brockenbrough said his time as a W&L student is what inspired his teaching career.

“I had outstanding professors who took the time to get to know students and were invested in student success, both in and out of the classroom,” he said. “To feel like you’ve had an impact on the lives of so many students is a very rewarding experience.”