Chapel witnesses four decades of weddings
By Miles Layton

It started with a simple smooch. According to Ohio University legend, the site of Galbreath Chapel is where the late John Galbreath, AB '20, LLD '61, and his sweetheart, Helen Mauck, '19, first kissed as students. More than 80 years later, the chapel is a special sanctuary in which many couples begin their married lives.

Galbreath had the modern colonial revival-style chapel built on the College Green in 1957 in his wife's memory. Since then, more than 1,700 couples - many of whom met and fell in love on campus - have tied the knot there.

Jim White, BSEE '62, and Marie Phillips, AA '52, were the first couple married in Galbreath Chapel in June 1958, just one week after the building was dedicated.

"I remember seeing the chapel being built and thinking at the time that it would be nice to be married there some day," Marie says.

Jim and Marie met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. Jim was a Columbus businessman and his bride-to-be was Ohio University President John Baker's secretary. Baker encouraged the couple to marry in the newly built chapel, promising to give away the bride.

The Whites' 1958 wedding party included President Emeritus John Baker (left).

Soon after the wedding, Jim was hired by the university as an electrical engineer and instructor. He retired in 1989, and Marie retired in 1992 after working with five presidents.

Jody Galbreath Phillips, BSED '46, daughter of John Galbreath, is thrilled so many couples have started their lives together in the chapel.

"It was very important for my father to build the chapel on campus," says Phillips, who provided support in 1998 for the installation of a 1,200-pipe organ in the sanctuary. "I think one of his intentions was that young people who have a bond with the university can get married there."

An average of 50 weddings are performed in Galbreath Chapel each year. Most ceremonies are traditional, but some stand out more than others, says Harriet Tong, who served as chapel administrator from 1984 to 1996. One service involved a bride from the Middle East who wanted to include a ritual blood letting, although Tong discouraged the practice. At another service, all the bridesmaids dressed in black.

Galbreath Chapel, which is used by people of all faiths, features an open-door policy regarding religion or type of service, accommodating everything from bar mitzvahs to christenings to same-sex marriages.

"My father wanted everyone to have access to it," Phillips says.

Miles Layton, MA '00, is a writer for Ohio University Media Services.