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Manchester a Roop
family tradition
I
t might be a case of, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
Manchester has been the school of choice for more than
four generations of the Roop family and they see no reason
to change now. “Manchester has been good to us,” says
trustee Gene Roop ’64, who retired as president of Bethany
Theological Seminary in 2007. “Good education and good
connections.” for me
to go to
Manchester,”
says Fred, “but from
the first time I visited as a
prospective student, it was the right fit for me. I love that Matthew has
found that same sense of community.”
This past fall, when Matthew Roop ’20 enrolled at MU to
study sport management, he probably could have found the
campus blindfolded. He follows his father, Fred Roop ’94, his
grandparents, Gene and Delora Mishler Roop ’64, and three of
his four great-grandparents – Gene’s parents Fred Roop ’39 and
Lois Berkebile ’38 Roop, and Delora’s dad, John Mishler ’48.
Though they did not graduate, grandfathers of Gene and Delora
started the family’s Manchester tradition in the early 20th century. And like his dad, Matthew says there was no family pressure —
Manchester was his choice. “After visiting,” Matthew says, “I felt as though
this could be my home and the people who could be my family for the
next four years.”
Add to the legacy list Gene and Delora’s daughter Tanya
Roop ’92 Yager and her husband Kirk Yager ’90, Gene’s sisters
Patricia Roop ’65 Burgette and Shirley Roop Mumy ’72,
Matthew’s mom’s sister, Kathy Byrum ’93 Buczkowski, and
Matt’s maternal grandparents, John ’68x and Gail Cordes
Byrum ’68. With other in-laws and cousins, the Roops might as
well have their family reunions at Homecoming.
Manchester was on Gene’s radar from birth. “We were living in
Fort Wayne and we came over often,” reflected Gene who, like
Delora, grew up in the Church of the Brethren. “It was the school
I knew best. I knew I wanted to be a teacher and there wasn’t
any other school in Indiana that had a better teacher education
program.”
Teaching is a family tradition too. Delora was an educator as are
son Fred, who lives in West Lafayette, Ind., and Tanya, who lives in
Columbia City, Ind. “There was never any expectation or pressure
Of course, family stories abound when the Roops gather. Gene rec alls
meeting Delora through common friends in the dining hall. The two
shared a love of music, too – Gene sang in A Cappella Choir and Delora
was a music major. He also recalls the sense of community he found here.
“We always went to the same table and you ate family style,” recalls Gene
of the early 1960s. “I developed some lifelong friends” at those meals.
That sense of belonging is a timeless quality about Manchester that
multiple generations of Roops treasure. “Connecting with people, says
Gene, “makes all the difference in the world.”
Values are important too, adds Gene, who earned his Master of Divinity
from Bethany and his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School. He and
Delora are steadfast donors to MU and have funded an endowment to
support academic programs that preserve awareness of the Church of the
Brethren role at Manchester. Gene sums up the gift in two words: “Roots
matter.”
And if you don’t believe that, ask a Roop. Pretty much any Roop.
Matthew Roop ’20, Gene Roop ’64, Lois
Berkebile ’38 Roop and Fred Roop ’94 (from
left) represent four generations of the family
at Manchester.
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