Her husband was the most influential president Tennessee Tech University has ever had. But Joan Derryberry, in her own quieter way, made an impact that is just as meaningful and long-lasting.
Outside of her official duties as first lady, Derryberry was an avid artist and several of her paintings still hang around campus and at Walton House, the president s residence. More of them hang around Cookeville, especially in the home of her son, Walter Derryberry. Others of the more than 1500 she painted hang throughout Tennessee and the nation.
A selection of Derryberry s paintings will be gathered and shown in a retrospective show in her namesake gallery. Part of Tennessee Tech s Centennial, it will run Jan. 26 to Feb. 25.
Without Walter s generous loan of his mother s paintings, this show could not have happened, said Centennial coordinator Laura Clemons. Joan Derryberry was a very talented artist and, for that reason alone, she deserves to have this show in her honor. It is more appropriate, of course, because she was our first lady for 34 years and played a big role in establishing who we are today as an institution.
Derryberry was a beloved teacher, a popular public speaker, concert pianist and composer, as well as a nationally known artist.
Her style as an artist can be described as impressionistic; her canvases are characterized by loose brush strokes and soft colors. She painted the landscapes of Middle Tennessee and other landscapes and subjects. As she painted, she combined the Upper Cumberland s lush green hills with her memories of Devonshire, England, her hometown.
In honor of that and her lasting impact on Tennessee Tech, the gallery was dedicated and named for her in March 1996.
The show will include between 15 and 20 paintings, some on public display for the first time, in the gallery on the first floor of the Roaden University Center, 1000 N. Dixie Ave. The show is free and open to the public.
As Tennessee Tech s longest-serving first lady, she wrote the Tech Hymn, which is still played at commencement and other ceremonious campus occasions. She taught many students music history and piano during a time when her husband was actively working to expand the music department.
Derryberry was a founding member of the Tennessee Arts Commission and was tireless in her determination to emphasize arts in the region. Her dedication set the stage for the strong arts community in the area, which has grown with the efforts of others.
She also founded the Town and Gown organization, which was designed to form closer ties between campus and the community. Decades later, the organization is still active and composed of women dedicated to her cause.
Joan Derryberry and Everett met when he was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University in 1928 . She sang in the university s opera club and taught piano. She had a degree in music from London s Royal College of Music, was a licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music and several certificates from the British Society of Art Masters.
Everett returned to England in 1933 to marry her. They came to Tennessee Tech in 1940, during the 25th anniversary celebrations.
TTU s Centennial celebrations continue until the end of the spring semester.