Veterans Tranquility Garden honors longtime employee Ralph Willingham

The faculty and students at Weatherford College care about their veterans.

So much so that in June, WC alum Beth Wetsel chose to create a Veterans Tranquility Garden for her capstone project to honor a very special man.

Ralph Willingham, a dedicated member of the Weatherford College community who has offered nearly five decades of service to the school's student body — and veteran students in particular — was on hand for the garden's dedication, an honor he said he will always cherish.

“I feel this garden passes on to military students what they can look forward to in this department and the service they will receive at WC,” Willingham said.

Weatherford College recently began to offer a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in Organizational Leadership, and alumnus Beth Wetsel was accepted into that program in the Fall of 2021 under the direction of Dr. Philip Mathew.

To obtain their BAAS, students were required to complete a Capstone Project.

“We were encouraged to begin thinking of the project we would complete and begin planning for it,” Wetsel said. “The idea is to have a project, work through the planning stages and completion of the project and have a positive impact. There were several discussions in our class for ideas, but I immediately knew what I wanted mine to be.”

The Tranquility Garden at Weatherford College was created to honor former longtime employee Ralph Willingham.

Longtime connection

Wetsel has worked at Weatherford College in Business Services for 27 years. For 24 or those years, she worked closely with Willingham before he retired in 2021.

“Ralph dedicated 48 years of service to Weatherford College, assisting our veterans and their educational needs,” Wetsel said. “For 24 years I saw his passion and the dedication he had for all of our students, but especially the veterans at WC. There was an outdoor space by the Veterans Office that has a mural, but the landscape area was a place that could be made to be a beautiful space with some added TLC.”

Wetsel decided to approach Tammy Peters in the Veterans Office to discuss her idea for her Capstone Project, which was to enhance the area and make it a place of tranquility in honor of Willingham and the school's veterans.

“She loved the idea, so that became our vision,” Wetsel said.

Peters, who worked with Willingham in the Veteran's Office for several years, said his service to the college extended to many people.

“Ralph started at Weatherford College in 1973, which was during the Vietnam era of veterans coming back home to get an education,” Peters said. “Ralph was very instrumental in helping our veterans obtain an education, which helped them get back into the civilian life.

“During Ralph’s time at Weatherford College, he also was in Financial Aid, oversaw the dorms and helped the international students along with many other duties. Working at Weatherford College for 48 years, he became family to all he worked with.”

The Tranquility Garden at Weatherford College was created to honor former longtime employee Ralph Willingham.

Making it happen

Wetsel credited the CBRE (Coldwell Banker Real Estate) maintenance team, saying they were instrumental in making this project successful, using their equipment to remove dirt, apply new granite and stepping stones and do the landscaping to make the area a place of tranquility.

The WC alum said the Upward Bound students also helped, coming on a Saturday and helping to clean out the old mulch, pull weeds and apply new mulch.

“It was so much fun to see this group of students helping make this project possible,” Wetsel said.

The project took several months to complete, culminating in the June 17 ceremony.

“We tried making it a surprise for Ralph and we feel it was a success,” Wetsel said. ”There was a large crowd of supporters, family and veterans, which shows the admiration for Ralph and his service to our veterans. I felt like he was humbled and honored that we would do this for him.”

The Tranquility Garden at Weatherford College was created to honor former longtime employee Ralph Willingham.

Willingham, who was drafted into the United States Army in June of 1969 and separated as a Spec 5 in 1971, said that he was humbled and honored by the experience.

“The garden says what it means to me, Beth, and Tammy,” Willingham said. “The first impression is very important. I really appreciate their gift to me, veterans, and all WC faculty, staff and administration.”