Class Notes: Winter 2023

Gene Barber, 97, lives in Hilo, Hawaii. He shares that in November 1943 he was a V-12 sailor studying engineering at University of Louisville. On Nov. 2, 1945, he was commissioned “Ensign” at a midshipmen school on Columbia University’s campus. That school, USNRMS NY, commissioned some 24,000 men, largely from V-12 units. In the 1990s, many veterans of WWII started having annual reunions. In 1996, Barber joined his reunion group. In 1997, he became the editor for their group of former midshipmen e-newsletter. In the following years he produced more than 800 e-mailed editions for this group. His daughter has put them all in an archive where they are stored in a chronicle or inverse order. By now death has claimed almost all members. In some edition names, “am” stands for “Ancient Mariner.” Early issues had other names like “Sunday Log,” and contained a lot of sea stories. Read, search or copy the entire archive.

Bill and Rose Ramsay, who met as Berea College students, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Sept. 7, 2022. They were married in Danforth Chapel in 1952. They lived in Berea from 1970 to 1995, while Bill served as dean of Labor and Student Life. After retirement and 11 years in South Carolina, they moved back “home” to Berea in 2006. Read more.

Margaret Wetzel is 88 and enjoying life.

Mary Nell Hall Malher moved to a senior apartment facility.

Blue Wooldridge received the Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity award. He was honored for his lifelong devotion to social equity, diversity and social justice.

Celia Hooper Miles has published her 11^th novel, the last in the series of cozy, grist mill mysteries, all set in western North Carolina. “The Secret at the Little Lost Mill” deals with the most primitive of water-powered mills with a horizonal, in-stream wheel. All books are available on Kindle (e-book), and this one and others are available in paperback on Amazon. All books are available from the author (with pleasure). www.celiamiles.com

Col. Stanley (Stan) Bishop, retired U.S. Air Force colonel and combat pilot, has written a book about his and his siblings’ experiences growing up in rural North Carolina during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s titled “Recollections: Memories From My Youth.” He had a great time recalling and writing about those years and reminisces from time to time about how it was back then—poor, large family, church-going, farming the land, plowing with a mule and more. He and his wife live in Florida.

Barbara Fleming has released the second issue of her book “Desperately Searching for Higher Education Among the Ruins of the Great Society,” in which she compares the outcome of post-secondary education by race and concludes that African American students are getting the worst education of any group in the nation. A must-read for anyone interested in higher education today. The book is now available on Amazon.

Dr. Patricia A. Sanders, a proud graduate of the Berea College Foundation school, had a biographic article about her life published by the University of South Alabama. Read more.

Bill Weir is an accomplished travel writer and photographer. He is well known among other world-class bicycle tourists. He has maintained
a website filled with wonderfully detailed stories and photos. His friends, Cat and Pat Patterson, share this short video introduction and hope it will be helpful to classmates. They write, “Bill is very quiet and unassuming. Of all the life paths, he certainly chose an interesting one, the bike paths of the world.” Watch here.

Šumit Ganguly became a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on Sept. 1, 2022. This summer, he will be a DAAD (German academic exchange) professor at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Dr. William P. Powers (Bill), retired in April 2022 after practicing medicine in the east Tennessee area for more than 35 years. He is a 1982 graduate of the UK College of Medicine, completed his residency and fellowship in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis, and served as chief of staff at East Tennessee Baptist Hospital in 1999. He is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Theresa, their three children, and one lovely granddaughter, Hadley. Bill can be reached at williamppowers@gmail.com.

Jamie Stone is enjoying retirement from Sphere One, Inc., where he was director of human resources and environmental, health and safety. He also managed Berea College broomcraft from 1980 to 1985. He is looking forward to spending time at piano, photography, cooking, traveling and spending more time with his beautiful wife, Cathy Williams Stone ’84.

Dr. Patricia C. Watson recently announced the release of her non-fiction, faith-based book “You Matter to God,” an inspirational, Christmas-themed book. Described as “an encouragement to readers,” the book is available at Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores. Dr. Watson has retired from the Floyd County School District and continues to work there part-time, guiding work with writing instruction and children’s programs.

Steve Fouts retired from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Kentucky in Frankfort on July 1, 2022, after 30.5 years of service.

Lana Flynn Richmond has won many awards, including enshrinement in Missouri Sports Hall of Fame 2016 as NCAA Division 1 softball coach, Pulaski County Kentucky School Hall of Fame 2018, Southeast Missouri State University Hall of Fame 2020, National Fastpitch Coaches Association 900-win Milestone 2018, OVC Softball Coach of Year—five times. Flynn retired after a 32-year NCAA D1 coaching career. She is originally from Somerset, Ky., and married to Tim Richmond. She has one daughter, Jordyn, who currently resides in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Susan Wethington Foster and husband, Gary Maxwell Foster, are delighted to announce the birth of their first grandchild. John Maxwell Foster was born on July 9, 2022. He and his parents, Nathan and Gabrielle Capriotti Foster, reside in Morgantown, W.Va., and the proud grandparents live near Buckhannon, W.Va.—close enough for frequent visits!

Nicky Borghardt Rosenbluth recently moved to Phoenix, Ariz., with her family to assume the role of vice president of leadership development for the Valley of the Sun YMCA.

Adrian Paul Stevens was appointed associate vice president for philanthropic giving at California State University. Read more.

Myra Denise Sensabaugh Little earned a promotion to senior accountant at Ballad Health, a hospital system serving northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

Amy Smith Brandum and William T. Brandum celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary in October. Will is a dental technician and part-time artist. Amy is a full-time artist working in a variety of media including painting, jewelry and weaving, the latter of which she learned at Berea. Her work can be viewed at www.amybrandum.com. They reside in Tennessee with three teenagers and five cats.

Jeremy Heidt led the Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s (THDA) Industry and Governmental Affairs division to be selected as a 2022 Fair Housing award recipient by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) for the agency’s one-hour continuing education course titled Increasing Minority Homeownership. They accepted the award Aug. 31, 2022, at ARELLO’s national conference in Nashville. THDA was nominated by Ron White, education director of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. ARELLO is an international membership-based organization with a mission to support jurisdictions in the administration and enforcement of their real-estate license laws.

Kathryn Coughlin was elected to her town’s select board, the executive branch of town government, for a three-year term beginning in March 2022. She continues to serve as an elected Natick, Mass. town meeting member (the legislative branch).

MARRIED: Anne Elizabeth Kinton Gruber married a wonderful man in South Bend, Indiana in June 2022.

Laurie Bradshaw Rowland was chosen as the Cleveland State Community College distinguished faculty of 2022 on May 6, 2022. She is currently the chair of the Humanities Department, faculty senate president, communication studies professor and speech and debate coach of the No. 1 debate team in Tennessee.

Kenya Arrington Woods was thrilled and honored to be in TOPS Magazine’s 50 under 50 edition. Boutique, personalized, professional, top quality, client-oriented service is the heart of her real estate brokerage. Let her put her experience, work ethic and heart to work for you! If you’re planning to buy, build or sell, call her.

Shawn Adkins earned his Doctor of Education degree in educational practice and leadership from the University of North Dakota on May 14, 2022.  His dissertation “The Z Factor: Generation Z and the Perspectives of Recruitment Professionals on Sustaining Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions During a Decade of Expected Decline in Higher Education Enrollment” can be found on ProQuest, Google Scholar and the University of North Dakota’s website. Dr. Adkins is the director of the Center for Student Success for undergraduate programs at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He has been married to Brent since 2017 and has resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, since 2002.

Jessica Richardson Webb was named publisher/editor of Smoky Mountain Times, a weekly newspaper in Bryson City, N.C., on July 4, 2022. She has worked for the company since December 2010. She lives in Whittier, N.C., with her husband, Luke Webb ’08. The couple also celebrated 15 years of marriage on July 7, 2022.

Donovan Andreas Harrison-Calicker was elected seventh president of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials – Jacksonville. It is a two-year term and the organization focuses on ensuring a level playing field for minorities in the transportation industry. Learn more.

DJ Gene Swiney has been married to his beautiful wife since 2012 and is a special education teacher.

Erica Lynne Cook started working at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2014 and then served as the children’s outreach and volunteer coordinator. In March 2022, she became the center’s marketing and communications director. The Carnegie Center is an educational and literary arts nonprofit in Lexington dedicated to empowering people to explore and express their voices.

BIRTH: twins, Ray and Janice Ranta, born to Stacey Roberts Ranta on Nov. 11, 2021. Janice was named in honor of longtime Berea College professor, Dr. Janice Burdette Blythe, of the Child and Family Studies department, who passed away in 2019.

BIRTH: a daughter, Alessandra Williams, born to Ariel Owens Williams and Brandon Williams on April 25, 2022.

Daniel Dennert is putting his Berea College arts training to work as he returns home to California and takes on a new position as arts program curator for San Diego International Airport. He oversees the performing and temporary exhibition programs. These initiatives enhance the experience of around 25 million travelers a year by creating unexpected encounters with art.

MARRIED: Aaron Lang to Candace Moberly, on June 11, 2022 at the Indian Fort Amphitheater, with a reception at the Forestry Outreach Center. The couple plans on residing in Berea.

BIRTH: a son, James Francis “Frankie” Grimm, was born to Hannah Storey Grimm and Eric Grimm in December 2021.

Noah Hughes has been named the director of athletics communication at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. He will lead all day-to-day operations of the athletics communication office and assist in event management. As part of his duties, Hughes will also oversee all website maintenance of www.SpaldingAthletics.com and manage the department’s social media presence on all platforms.

Sarah Deal has acquired the new position of family and consumer sciences extension agent in Lawrence County, Ky. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in child and family studies (CFS) with a concentration in nutrition in fall 2020. She is a first-generation college graduate from Wole County, Ky. She would like to give special thanks to Dr. Neil Mecham and Dr. Margaret Dotson of the CFS department for their guidance and support throughout her time at Berea College. Deal looks forward to a career serving the community, especially in eastern Kentucky.