ASHLAND — Ashland’s school board unanimously accepted a $250,000 donation Monday from Norma and Lloyd Wygant.
“With sincere gratitude,” said board member Gina Deppert before voting “yes.”
The money will go toward the school district’s high school stadium entrance project, which is estimated to cost $942,125.
The board also approved a resolution that allows district administration to seek bids from construction contractors and hire VSWC Architects.
The board did not discuss a timeline for the project.
“These are great people,” said Zack Truax, board president. “They’ve always supported the school in so many different ways. We just really appreciate everything they’ve done for Ashland.”
The Wygants have donated monies to the community before. In 2019 the couple donated funds to Brookside Golf Course’s pavilion, which is named after Don Hostettler — Norma’s father and Ashland’s first full-time mayor.
The couple also donated $500,000 to the high school’s Keith Wygant Memorial Field House in 2018. The 40,000-square foot, $3.5 million building — dedicated in October 2019 — houses practices for baseball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and weightlifting teams.
“We made our money in Ashland,” Lloyd Wygant said. “So we thought we should give it back to Ashland.”
Lloyd Wygant said he and his wife owned 13 apartments in the area and Ashland Paint and Color, retail home decor store.
“Any money we had left over, we invested. We’re fortunate because my wife is good at investing,” Lloyd Wygant. “Some people buy condos and big houses and we bought stock.”
Money is one thing, but Ashland is another, the Wygants said.
The couple, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in September, met during their senior year at Ashland High School. The two were acquaintances, their paths having crossed in various activities such as student council and sharing the same home room. One night the students were at the Ashland County Fair.
“She was on the Ferris wheel,” Lloyd Wygant said. “A friend told me to go on there with her. I told him no because she was with another guy. He told me they weren’t anymore, so I went on with her.”
That night, the acquaintances became friends.
“We walked home together that night. Two days later, I asked for a date. And five years later, we got married … We just got along well from the beginning. It was just meant to be,” Lloyd Wygant said.
After high school, they went their separate ways to continue their respective educations. Lloyd moved out west, to attend the University of Colorado, while Norma stayed in her home state to study at Ohio Wesleyan University.
They both graduated from college in 1951 and married shortly thereafter while Lloyd served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Their first child, Keith, was born at a naval hospital in North Carolina.
The family eventually moved to where both children, a son and daughter, attended Ashland City schools. Keith would have graduated from Ashland High School in 1971. He died unexpectedly in his sleep during the fall of his senior year.
Their son’s death prompted school friends and parents to start a memorial scholarship in his name, which the school district administered before Ashland County Community Foundation took over in 2005.
The Wygants attend high school football games as season ticket holders. They sit in the same spot on the grandstand bleachers, up high, near the press box.
“Sure, it makes us feel good,” said Norma Wygant when asked by a reporter if the couple has a sense of pride when they attend football games. “It’s a beautiful facility at this point.
“I mean, the whole thing — the schools, the practice fields. It’s a beautiful view of Ashland at the top of the stadium.”
