Dr. Arreta Jaranko was not one to loudly challenge convention, but her life spoke volumes. Born in 1922 in Clarksburg, W.Va., during the Great Depression, she faced formidable challenges. Yet, she quietly but firmly pursued a path of learning, innovation, and service that defied the limitations of her time.
As a teenager, she dreamed of becoming a doctor, inspired by her grandfather, a horse-and-buggy physician. But when she shared her ambitions with her father, he dismissed her aspirations outright. “Girls don’t need an education,” he told her. “They get married and have babies.”
At just 17, she seemingly started down that path as her adventurous streak revealed itself when she boarded a train alone to travel from Clarksburg to Kentucky to marry her sweetheart, a soldier stationed at an Army camp. “It was the most fearful thing I’d ever done,” she would later admit about that train ride, yet she pressed forward.
This same courage would underpin every challenge she faced. By 19, she was a young mother raising a son while her husband served overseas. In 1945, her husband returned, but their marriage struggled, and they divorced several years later. With her father’s vision for her life eroding and now a single mother, Arreta faced a daunting reality: how to build a life for herself and her children in a world that offered women few options.
Her solution was education. Encouraged by her aunt, Arreta enrolled in business school to learn shorthand and typing. At night, she practiced at home, waving her arms and mimicking the sounds of shorthand strokes. “Ooo, ooo,” she’d say, her hand moving in quick, looping motions. Her young son watched and giggled, fascinated by her determination to master the skill that would help her secure work as a secretary for the president of Fairmont State College.
Juggling her job, her studies, and raising two sons, she graduated summa cum laude from Fairmont State. Along the way, she demonstrated her remarkable resourcefulness and courage to do whatever it took to move forward. She sang in a local band to make extra money, using her natural talent and poise to help provide for her family. When a professor encouraged her to enter a speech contest, she took the chance and delivered a winning performance that earned her $200—enough to keep her educational goals within reach. Arreta displayed a rare blend of talent, determination, and the courage to take risks, creating opportunities for herself and her family.
Her teaching career began in Sardis, W.Va., where she taught first and second grade in a combined classroom. To get to work, she walked across a swinging bridge and down a long path to meet a carpool of fellow teachers. When she first started teaching, she painstakingly handwrote worksheets for her students every night. Determined to find a better way, she visited the library, learned how to build a mimeograph machine, and constructed one herself. Together with her son, she churned out copies, the sharp smell of the mimeograph fluid leaving an indelible memory.
As she pursued her master’s and doctorate degrees at WVU, the sacrifices continued. Her oldest son, Gregory, vividly remembers her waking up early to make him eggs for breakfast, carefully covering them with the lid of a pan to keep them warm before heading out the door to work – a small but powerful symbol of her selflessness. (He didn’t have the heart to tell her they were always cold.) The only thing Gregory saw her eat or drink during those years were crackers and coffee.
Every Sunday, Arreta drove from Morgantown to Clarksburg to lead the children’s choir at her church. The church had a massive air-driven organ—a daunting instrument with multiple rows of keys, an array of pedals, and an intimidating collection of stops. Initially, no one was willing to teach her how to play it. She wasn’t angry or defiant, she just simply refused to let the lack of instruction stop her. She taught herself, slowly mastering the complex mechanics of the organ through sheer persistence.
She joined the faculty at West Virginia University after earning her doctorate in education. At WVU, she worked at the Reading Center, where her efforts focused on advancing literacy education. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kennedy, she not only taught but also contributed to the development of the center’s programs. Her dedication to literacy was recognized early on, earning her the prestigious Larkin Roberts Memorial Scholarship for outstanding doctoral candidates in 1961.
In 1967, Dr. Jaranko founded the West Virginia Reading Association and became its first elected president, marking a significant milestone in her efforts to advance literacy. Her work soon extended beyond West Virginia as she participated in federal programs focused on adult literacy, teaching in states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, and across the west coast. She taught a summer class at the University of Wisconsin in 1966 and worked as a consultant for Tennessee State and was impacted by how underserved various populations were. In the late 1960s, she left WVU to join George Peabody College for Teachers, now part of Vanderbilt University. There, she played a pivotal role in developing innovative programs in adult literacy, further solidifying her reputation as a national leader in education. Her commitment to literacy also took her abroad, teaching at the American University in Athens, Greece, in 1970.
In 1971, she joined the faculty at Shepherd College (now Shepherd University). As a professor of education, she played a pivotal role in shaping the college’s academic offerings. Although she had already achieved great professional success, her dedication to education remained evident. At the request of Shepherd’s president, Dr. Jaranko organized programs to ensure professional development opportunities reached educators in remote areas of West Virginia. In one instance, she made the 72-mile trek from Shepherdstown to Romney, navigating winding mountain roads through a snowstorm to lead a class. When she arrived, she discovered that everyone else had assumed the class was canceled due to the weather.
She retired as Professor Emerita of Education in 1987.
Even in retirement, Dr. Jaranko’s commitment to education and her pioneering spirit continued to shine. She spent time teaching Sunday School at church, developing continuing education programs, mentoring young educators, and writing personalized storybooks for her grandchildren to inspire their love of reading. These small acts, much like her larger achievements, reflected her belief that learning was not just a personal pursuit but a gift to be shared.
She passed away at the age of 96 on August 5, 2019.
For a young woman once told that her place in life was to marry and have children, Dr. Jaranko’s accomplishments were a quiet but powerful rebuke of that narrow vision. She forged a path of her own—raising a family, earning her doctorate, and transforming countless lives through her work in literacy and education. Her life is a reminder that courage, resourcefulness, and determination can redefine expectations and leave a legacy far greater than imagined.