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September 2008
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Anna Laura
by Vickie S. Kirby
 Just the name Anna Laura
has a melodic and uplifting lilt.
In the nearly 15 years Anna Laura Page
has been first lady of Austin College,
many have enjoyed the song
she brings to every day.
Editor’s Note: As President Oscar C.
Page’s announced retirement from Austin College in June 2009 draws
nearer, the College community begins the process of saying farewell
to Dr. Page — and to his wife, who has been very much a part of
campus life. Having met the Pages in February 1994 immediately after
the Board of Trustees officially elected Page as president, I’ve had
many opportunities to interact with Anna Laura and offer here a
glimpse into the daily life of our first lady.
Those walking on the Austin College campus any
afternoon might see Anna Laura Page walking her dog in front of
their home just across the street. If they wave her down they will
be greeted with her ready smile and a bit of southern charm. She
offers no pretense or putting-on of airs; few would guess they were
speaking to the wife of a college president. The encounter with her
will be genuine, but perhaps brief; she’s a busy woman, both in her
role as first lady of Austin College and as a sought-after composer,
director, and performer of sacred organ, hand bell, piano, and
choral music.
Anna Laura’s career branches in many directions.
She leads hand bell festivals all over the country. She composes
music and lyrics or special arrangements for hand bell, organ, and
piano. She co-wrote “Creation Will Be at Peace,” which has
been performed at events ranging from dedication of a Holocaust
museum in Arizona to a service at mega church Coral Ridge
Presbyterian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to these
projects, she was hand bell editor for Alfred Publishing Company for 11 years.
She writes Easter and Christmas musicals and a variety of special
commissions, including pieces for the 50th anniversary of Wynne
Chapel, in memory of a child who died in an airplane crash, and in
celebration of the dedication of a new church sanctuary.
Many visitors to the Page home have enjoyed Anna
Laura’s seemingly effortless performance of beautiful piano pieces,
ranging from Christmas carols to Broadway tunes to classical
compositions.
When film director Peter Bogdanovich visited
campus and the Page home, Anna Laura played piano and Bogdanovich
sang — with Bogdanovich calling out whatever song next came to mind
— and Anna Laura never missed a note.
Opportunities to meet many of the people who visit
Austin College are among the experiences she holds dear. “All the
people have been wonderful. I’ve enjoyed them and having the chance
to see their more personal side,” Anna Laura said.
Though she has visited with Barbara Bush and had
tea with Henry Winkler, Anna Laura is as gracious to every member of
the Austin College community as to “celebrities.” “The people in
Sherman and in Texas in general are wide open and friendly,” she
said. “That has been wonderful. People here just accept you.”
And Anna Laura has “loved, loved, loved!” living
across the street from the College. ”I love to see the students,
watch the activities, and hear the chimes. I so enjoy seeing the
students and faculty work together and then keep up with each other
through their lives. I don’t even know where my college roommates
are. It has fascinated me how the Austin College community is so
connected. And, the trustees have been so wonderful to us. It’s an
amazing place.”
Oscar and Anna Laura’s move to Sherman was the
first without at least one of their two children, Kristen and Matt.
In 1994 when the Pages arrived at Austin College, Matt had completed
a degree at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee and was
working; Kristen was beginning doctorate work at Purdue University.
Matt was married only six months after the Pages arrived in Texas. A
few years later, Matt and his wife, Amy, moved to McKinney, Texas,
and in 1999, their daughter Cailin — the first Page grandchild — was
born. Kristen since has married and she and her husband, Rick, now
are expecting their first child. And, in the continuing circle of
life, Anna Laura’s dear mother, Beulah Cook, known to many at Austin
College, died this July at 97 years of age.
She had lived with Oscar and Anna Laura the past
seven years, since becoming ill during a visit from her Kentucky
home. During those years, caring for her mother took some of Anna
Laura’s time as well, but it was time she gladly gave. “It was
wonderful to have that time with her. I left home at 18, married a
‘vagabond,’ and never got to know her that well. It was fun having
her here, but hard watching her suffer through health issues. She
had always been so healthy.”
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