In the early 1980s, Reinhardt alumni Evelyn Jackson and W. Frank Gordy, Sr. made a major gift of appreciation to Reinhardt College to develop what was then a badly needed food service and dining facility. Mr. Gordy passed away a few months after giving the gift, and Mrs. Evelyn Gordy decided to upgrade the plans to make sure the dining hall would be a fitting memorial to Frank and their loving marriage of 53 years. On October 26, 1984, the W. Frank and Evelyn J. Gordy Center was dedicated
to the glory of God and the memory of Frank Gordy.
Evelyn and Frank Gordy met when they attended what was then Reinhardt Academy in 1924 but did not become romantically involved until later, marrying in June of 1930 after they had finished their schooling and begun working. In 1928, Mr. Gordy had founded The Varsity, the famed Atlanta landmark, which would grow to be known as “The World’s Largest Drive-In Resta-urant.” It has remained a family-owned business; its current president, Gordon Muir, is the grandson of Evelyn and Frank Gordy. Gordon Muirs’s mother, their daughter and Reinhardt Trustee Nancy Simms, is the CEO. The Varsity at Reinhardt University now functions to provide late-night meals for students who have already eaten dinners at the Gordy Dining Center but need something to eat when late-night hunger strikes.
JoEllen B. Wilson, a former Vice President at Reinhardt University, said of Evelyn Jackson Gordy, “The facility is just like Mrs. Gordy—elegant, yet practical and efficient. She was gracious and kind yet also strong-willed, and always a true Southern lady. While some dining halls are sterile and institutional, ours is warm and welcoming. That was her goal, and she accomplished it with class.”
"Evelyn and Frank Gordy met when they attended what was then Reinhardt Academy in 1924 but did not become romantically involved until later, marrying in June of 1930 after they had finished their schooling and begun working."
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