Honorary Aggie And Dedicated Supporter

She’s an exposition in panache and firecracker passion. Even in a wheelchair, Mrs. Glada Crocker has the swagger of someone half her age. “Watch me tap dance down this hallway,” she teased, propelling her wheelchair with a soft-shoe dance set that would have tempted Fred Astaire.

She’s a fiery woman with snow-white hair. At 102-years-old, Mrs. Crocker has enjoyed many passions in her life. Her husband Alfred Crocker ’30 for one, their son Alfred Markham Crocker another, and Texas A&M. “Oh, Texas A&M. I’ve loved it ever since I saw my first Aggie,” she said. For Mrs. Crocker, a Bryan girl, that first glimpse came at four years old. Mrs. Crocker said a girlfriend of hers lamented “when I see an Aggie, I think they all look alike, so I just look at their hair,” commenting on the Corps of Cadets haircuts. “Where do you look?” the friend asked Mrs. Crocker.

Their feet, she grinned.

Yes, Texas A&M is held in high esteem by Mrs. Crocker. That she named her son to have the initials AMC is proof enough. On her wall is a framed "Honorary Aggie" certificate presented to her by then-president Dr. Elsa Murano. At 38 years of continuous support to The Association’s Annual Fund, her Century Club plaque with all its year bars stretches to almost her full height. So when a woman who loves Texas A&M that much and never dated anyone but Aggies says that she “married the best one who ever went there,” you must believe her.

They met at a church party. She went as the date of another Aggie, but when she saw Crocker, she had one question: "Who in the world is that?" According to her date, Crocker had asked the same question upon spotting her. Her date brought Alfred over, saying, "When two people ask the same person ‘who in the world is that?’ I think those two people should be introduced," she said.

On her 22nd birthday, Alfred gave his Glada an Aggie Sweetheart Ring and asked for her hand in marriage.

“My Aggie Ring was my engagement ring,” she said.

Alfred never used slang, Mrs. Crocker said. He was honest, hard working, and if anyone did him wrong, well, Mrs. Crocker said he’d go inside and pray for them. “While he was inside, I’d go and get the broom, come out and knock them,” she joked. They were a great team.

Life continued for the Crockers with stories of Alfred and WWII, the Great Depression, living in different towns for employment, a new baby, late nights, early mornings, working with the 4-H Club Program and working as a county agent. Life brought loss and gain, yet the Crockers gave to Texas A&M continuously.

Even after her husband died in 1990, Mrs. Crocker continued her giving. Not a lot of money, she insists, just the minimum, “but sometimes that money was hard to come by.” And every little bit helps.


“I got a letter not too long ago that told me how many books or materials were bought with my giving,” she said. “I saved it for my scrapbook.”

She gives a good lecture to any of her relatives who are former students and don’t donate. First they get her look. Then the finger wag. Then the speech. “You wouldn’t have any of these good things if it weren’t for Texas A&M,” she says.

“I love A&M so I’ve doggedly kept at this,” she said. “I just can’t tell you how much A&M means to me.”