Wintergreen Farm owner leaves $1.4M bequest to Randolph College

Long-time Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Professor Margaret Pertzoff, who owned a Wintergreen farm, has left a $1.4 million bequest to the Lynchburg school, now Randolph College.

“What her gift does is ensure that her legacy will remain for future generations of students,” Randolph College President John Klein said after the school announced the estate gift Wednesday. “It won’t just be spent. It will hopefully be there (as part of the college’s endowment) in perpetuity, providing scholarship monies for students through many generations.”

Pertzoff, who taught European and Russian history at R-MWC from 1967 until 1998, was honored with two endowed chairs and several teaching awards during her time at the college. She died in March at 82.

She loved her gardens at Wintergreen Farm, which she and her husband owned.

A memorial service at the farm this Saturday 13 at 4 p.m. was set for when peonies would be in bloom.

Randolph math Professor Paul Irwin, who joined the R-MWC faculty in 1974, said Pertzoff was “one of the most respected faculty members.”

“Whenever there was something important to be done, for example serving on a presidential search committee or as chair of the faculty, Margaret always came to mind and was usually elected to those positions,” Irwin said.

During her tenure, Pertzoff served on and chaired every major committee at the college.

A resident of Charlottesville, during the week Pertzoff stayed at an apartment that neighbored the college.

“She was probably too dedicated to commute on a daily basis,” Irwin said. “She would want to be around for evening presentations and events and music performances — she was a great lover of music.”

In 1996, Pertzoff made a gift to the college that created an emergency loan fund for students under unexpected financial hardships. That fund still exists today.

Faculty members said that Pertzoff was demanding of her students, and they respected her for it.

“She really just set high standards for achievement,” said biology Professor Doug Shedd. “And they (students) wanted to meet them.”

“She just had a really firm grasp on what we were trying to accomplish here, and pass that on to her students and colleagues. She’s the kind of person who really has made the college great over the years.”

Shedd said the gift also was meaningful in light of the changes the college has undergone in the past couple of years as it became the coeducational Randolph College.

“It feels good to me to know that the college still is the kind of place that she wanted to be at, and the kind of place that she worked so hard to produce,” he said.

Klein said that students described Pertzoff “as inspirational and as a historian who made the past come alive.”

Pertzoff also is remembered for her appreciation of tennis, traveling, humor and cooking.