Class Notes: Spring 2022

Jeanne Haring Schoonover graduated from the school of nursing in 1949. At that time, it was a three-year program. She is now 93 years old.

Mary Ogle Bremier published her memoir “The Shadows of Appalachia” in 2021. The book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other shopping locations.

Clara Blackburn Bradbury and Raymond Bradbury Fd ’46 celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Nov. 28, 2021. They have resided at the retirement-life community of Matthews Glen in Matthews, N.C., for 12 years. Raymond retired 30 years ago as president of Martin County Coal Corporation.

Lattie Mae Corbin Keeter retired from classroom teaching after 30 years. She writes that she lives alone in her home of 50 years, after the death of her precious husband, Jack, in 2019 from Parkinson’s disease. They have three married children: Tammy, her two sons and two granddaughters live in Greensboro, N.C.; Carolyn and her three sons in Virginia; and Randy and his son and daughter live in Hickory, N.C. They visit as often as possible. Her two little great granddaughters, Brinley and Teagan, are a special delight.

John “Ken” Gwinn was married to Ruby (Wendy) Pickett Gwinn ’53 for 50 years. Recently he celebrated 17 years with second wife, Lynette. When they reach 19 years, they’ll have a 100 year celebration. His first 50 [years of marriage], her first 31 years plus their 19 will make 100 years combined.

Loyal Jones was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame for 2022. Read more.

James Leonard Greer, during the recent pandemic, found time to complete and publish a 386-page book titled “Oral History and My Appalachia.” It is published by Carypress International Books and can be found on Amazon.

Dr. Kelly Moss misses their spouse, Betty Simpkins Moss ’57 of 64 years. Betty passed away on Sept. 23, 2021. Moss works at Primary Plus Rural Health Clinic in Maysville, Ky., two days per week.

William E. Gill Jr. attended school at Berea from 1955 through college, graduating in 1962. After a successful career in rural electrics and a brief stint as a regional representative for the National Association of Home Builders, Gill is retired now. He resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his son and daughter-in-law.

Dr. Don Smith retired from the University of Houston-Victoria and now lives in San Antonio, Texas. The University honored him and his wife, Mona Smith, with a new residence hall named in their honor.

Rose Hayes Swope is enjoying volunteer work teaching watercolor painting at assisted living.

Jack Roush, motorsports icon, presented in November to students at Monroe County Community College in Monroe, Mich., where he taught approximately five decades ago. Roush signed autographs and met with students, staff and community members. Read more.

Roush was also inducted into the 2022 class of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in March. Read more.

J. Bruce McKinney has enjoyed playing golf with classmates Chuck Eckler, James “Bones” Owens and Roger Vanover several times during the past year. He and his wife, Maggie Jordan McKinney ’68, returned to traveling and visiting with family and friends during the past year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic!

Dr. Barbara Durr Fleming announced the release of her new book “Desperately Searching for Higher Education Among the Ruins of the Great Society.” Based on her data analysis, Dr. Fleming concludes America is operating two national school systems—one for the rich and one for the poor. Her book is available on Amazon.

Dr. Carolyn Ann David Garrison retired Dec. 31, 2020, after teaching at Campbellsville University School of Education for 47.5 years—a total of 50.5 years of teaching. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor of education, teaching graduate literacy classes. She and her husband, Bruce Garrison, who is retired from teaching public school, live in Campbellsville.

Joseph Horton retired in 2008 from the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives.

Voe Hines Morris is grateful to have survived COVID-19 after a 10-day hospital stay. She retired July 1, 2021 from her habilitation specialist position with Northwest Community Services, where she worked with developmentally disabled individualized supported living (ISL) home residents.

Ron Reed is enjoying the first few days of retirement after teaching at Hazard Community and Technical College since 1987 as a professor of English. He is now enrolled in the Bluegrass and Traditional Music program, learning how to play a mandolin and how to play the guitar with a bit more taste. Ron and his wife, Teresa Reed ’71, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in late June. They are enjoying life up on the mountain and the occasional breakfast in town on Sunday mornings.

Lonnie Jones retired from employment with the state of North Carolina as an office manager with the Employment Security Commission. He and his wife, April Ramsey ’72, have served Welcome Home Baptist Church in Ashe County, N.C. as bi-vocational pastors for the past 23 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Dr. Anthony C. Hackney has been named by the International Olympic Committee to a medical commission to develop guidelines for maintaining health and performance in elite athletes.

Roy Huffman graduated with degrees in mathematics and physics in 1984. He went to graduate school and got his master’s in mathematics. He joined the Navy in 1997 and retired in 2017. He’s been married to his wife, Marcia Huffman, since 2006. He is still working in the Virginia Beach, Va., area until retirement.

Dee Wathome has published three books “Days of Elijah,” “Journeying Successfully” and “Following the Master,” all of which are available on Amazon.

Joseph Goins celebrated a milestone birthday cocktail/dinner party that he hosted for friends at Boone Tavern on Dec. 19, 2021.

LeAnne Davis Croteau and her husband, Marc Croteau, have purchased her grandparents’ farmhouse and live in tranquility on top of a mountain in Greeneville, Tenn. She is a critical care paramedic currently enrolled in online nursing classes.

Dr. Tammy Horn Potter reflects on physician and First Lady of Berea College, Dr. Louise Hutchins, wife of Berea’s President Francis Hutchins (1939-1967), as someone often overlooked for her contributions to the state and beyond. Read more.

Enola G. Freeman has several stories published in the anthology “Sister Muses” with her longtime writing partner, Dr. Elisabeth Wolfe. The stories range from different viewpoints on biblical stories to modern retellings of Greek myths and stories based on obscure urban legends, all with a twist of “What if…?” Her book is available on Amazon.

Dr. Angela Fultz was recognized for her term as a general education faculty regent to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Board of Regents. Read more.

Kathryn Coughlin announced her candidacy for Natick, Mass., Select Board in November 2021. Read more.

Mae Suramek ran for the 89th District seat in the House of Representatives for Kentucky. Read more.

Melody Rose Teague was elected to serve as the Southern Region director for the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) Board of Directors and currently serves as the national chair for the Leadership and Administrative Skills Committee. She is also the president-elect of the Extension Journal Inc. (Journal of Extension at Clemson University) Board of Directors. She was a Class X graduate of the Kentucky Ag Leadership Program in 2014. She currently teaches multiple classes on Southern Appalachian culture, history, native plants and folklore and is a certified wine judge. She works for University of Tennessee Extension.

Tammy Lynn Clemons earned a Doctorate of Philosophy and graduated from the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology in May 2021. Her dissertation is entitled “Producing Possibilities: Envisioning and Mediating Youth, Identities, and Futures in Central Appalachia.” Read more.
As part of this research, she conducted an oral history project on “Youth Activism in Different Generations in Appalachia,” which was funded by a project grant and transcription grant from the Kentucky Oral History Commission and is housed in the University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. Read more.

In 2020, Clemons published an article about this oral history project in the special issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society on “Beyond the War on Poverty: New Perspectives on Appalachia since 1970.” Read more.
Clemons is also a media artist currently working as an artist mentor for the Appalachian Teaching Artist Fellowship through Partners for Education at Berea College, and she became an adjunct instructor in general studies at Berea in Fall 2021. She is the board secretary for the non-profit organization Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest and recently accepted invitations to serve on the editorial board for the digital Kentucky Folklife Magazine, sponsored by the Kentucky Folklife Program and the board of Kentuckians for the Arts (beginning July 2021).

Katie Poulette Startzman and Michael Startzman ’97 discuss plans for a brewery in Berea, Ky. Read more.

Yedidiyah Yisrael writes, “Shalom and Blessings from The Most High. I just want to say that my years at Berea College proved to be very instrumental on my personal journey. Having three children and now grandchildren springing up I must say my priceless experiences there were well earned! Also, now as an automotive mechanic (technician), that automotive course in the Technology department was well worth it. P.S. Did I also mention that if not for the curriculum I probably wouldn’t know how to swim until this day. So what if I had to take the course twice, it was just as nice!”

Chaka Cummings joined the Prichard Committee in 2021 as director of K-12 and equity policy. Read more.

Stephen Wiggins is one of eight artists from across the commonwealth selected for Kentucky Crafted, the Kentucky Arts Council’s adjudicated program that provides assistance to Kentucky visual and craft artists through marketing and promotional opportunities and arts business training. Wiggins’ work can be purchased and viewed at the ArtHouse Kentucky at 576 East Third Street Suite 120, Lexington, KY 40508. Visit the website and social media @arthousekentucky.

Jesse Morrison discusses how he found his love for agriculture and grew that into his career as an assistant research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station on Mississippi State University’s farms. Read more.

DeJuana L. Thompson, president and CEO of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, was named one of the three co-chairs for the transition team for Mayor Randall Woodfin’s second term in Birmingham, Ala. Read more.

Andrew Jones was endorsed by the Alabama Forestry Association for state Senate. Read more.

Makenzie Wells reflects on how her practicum empowered her career transition. Read more.

Jason Peerce was announced in December as the newest member of the Board of Directors for Let’s Empower, Advocate and Do, Inc. (LEAD), a nonprofit corporation with a mission to promote mental-health education for students, educators and organizations.

Paul Adkins, a first-generation graduate from Pikeville, Ky., graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Master of Science in Education (instructional systems design) in December and was promoted from extension agent to senior extension associate with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service’s Nutrition Education Program, serving Louisville-area limited-resource families and supporting program assistants for the Nutrition Education Program.

Cliff and Pamela Todd Sakutukwa are excited to announce Cliff’s graduation with his Master of Business Administration from Yale (2019) and Pamela’s graduation with her Master of Education in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard (2021). Cliff and Pamela live in Chicago, where he is a strategy manager at Deloitte Consulting, and Pamela is currently exploring opportunities. They both are grateful to Berea for opening so many doors, including meeting each other while students at Berea.

Kyle Kincaid loved God and loved his time at Berea College. He also loved writing and spoken word poetry. His mother, Denise Kincaid, shares a collection of his writings and spoken word poetry to honor his memory. Read more.

Senora May Lainhart reflects on her influences, her passions and making music in Appalachia in an interview with LEO Weekly. Read more.

BIRTH: twins, Evelyn and Owen, to Ashley Thomas Schroader and husband, John Schroader.

BIRTH: a daughter, Madalynn Esther Grace, born to Chelsea Cantrell Bentley and Jordan Bentley ’18 on Jan. 20, 2021. Madalynn is their first daughter.

Nicole Lynn Baker graduated from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2021. She moved to The Dalles, Ore., to start an associate veterinary position at Columbia Veterinary Hospital.

Yohannes N. Amsalu is elated to announce his first product to the world. JoBuna is a coffee and tea brand. All the products are from his motherland, Ethiopia.