The Berea College Alumni Association enjoys hearing from Bereans from all over the U.S. and the world. The “Class Notes” section of Berea College Magazine (BCM) reports verifiable news that has been sent to the Association by alumni. BCM reports the news you wish to share with your alumni friends and associates. “Class Notes” reports careers, weddings, retirements, births and other items of importance to our alumni. Please include your class year and name used while attending Berea. Notes may be edited for style and length. Please note that our printing deadlines may delay the appearance of your class news. While we will make every effort to put your information into the next issue of BCM,some delays due to printing schedules may occur. We appreciate your understanding. Submit class notes and photographs via email: alumninews@berea.edu.
1949
Peggy Johnson Duncan, Acad, ’45, gives many thanks to Amy Harmon, ’99, and John Harmon, ’95, for their help with the May 2015 picnic at Balboa Park for San Diego alumni.
Franklin Parker and Betty June Parker, ’50, gave a joint dialogue, June 15, 2015, on “Minorities’ Protests in the 1960s, the 20th Century’s Most Tumultuous Decade,” at Uplands Village, Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, where they have lived since 1994. The couple will conduct another dialogue, June 20, 2016, on “Robert F. Kennedy versus Lyndon B. Johnson – The Feud Over John F. Kennedy’s Legacy.” Request copies of these and their other writings through their email address: bfparker@frontiernet.net
1955
Robert “Bob” and Frances VanSant Edwards, ’54, are both retired. They attended Bob’s 60th reunion at Berea College. The couple was married in Danforth Chapel.
1962
Birth: a daughter, Carly Rose Evans, to Deanna and Holly Evans on October 23, 2015. Carly is the granddaughter of Carl Evans and Dr. Ann Evans.
1964
Lois Allison Menasian has been retired for 20 years after having worked in the public school systems of Duvall County, Florida, and Cherokee County, North Carolina, for 30 years.
Lowell and Peggy Baird Murray, ’66, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family on September 20, 2015 at a reception in their honor. The reception, organized by their daughters, Melissa and Margaret, took place in the Coyle Gathering Room at the Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant. The couple married on September 5, 1965 in Danforth Chapel and made Berea their home. Peggy taught at Berea Community School for 35 years and Lowell is a former Berea fire chief.
1967
Doug Riffey was a pilot for 39 years, flying for the U.S. Air Force, Delta Air Lines and corporations. In 2010, he received a kidney transplant and encourages everyone to be an organ donor. He may be contacted at bassetllc@charter.net.
1968
On behalf of President Lyle D. Roelofs, Dr. Barbara Fleming represented Berea College at the September 25, 2015 investiture ceremony of Dr. Algeania Marie Warren Freeman, the 20th president of Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
1970
Gerald Moss was installed as district governor of Lions Club District 43-C on June 30, 2015 in Honolulu, Hawaii. District 43-C covers a majority of the counties in central and southeastern Kentucky. Gerald and his wife, Brenda, attended the Lions Club International Convention in Honolulu with about 20 other Lions from across Kentucky.
1972
Shayla Damron Mettille, Ed.D., completed her doctoral degree in August 2015 at the University of Kentucky. Her doctorate is in literacy education from the department of curriculum and instruction, where she was a teaching assistant for several years as a supervisor for practicum and student teachers with the office of field experiences. Dr. Mettille is currently teaching English at Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Anderson County. Her address is 8008 Sea Hero Run, Versailles, KY 40383.
1973
On behalf of President Lyle D. Roelofs, Dr. Betty Coffey represented Berea College at the September 19, 2015 installation ceremony of Dr. Mary K. Grant, the seventh chancellor of the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
1980
On behalf of President Lyle D. Roelofs, Dr. D. Michael Graham represented Berea College at the October 2, 2015 installation ceremony of Dr. Fayneese Miller, the 20th president of Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
1982
Michael Flynn is the vice president and director of business development at Byce & Associates Architects. He and his wife, Maryann Sophie, have two children, Logan and Scott.
1985
Pamela Hunt is in her 18th year of teaching for the Mansfield City (Ohio) school system as a general music teacher. In summer 2015, she won 1st place in autoharp at the Tazewell (Virginia) Fiddlers Convention and 1st place in dulcimer at the Morehead (Kentucky) Old Time Music Festival. Pamela resides in Mansfield, Ohio.
1987
In November 2015 Will Spivey was named president of Excalibur, a full-service direct marketing firm based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For the last 25 years, he has provided strategic marketing counsel to a wide range of companies, from the Fortune 50 to start-ups. In 1999, Will founded Maxim Direct, a full-service direct marketing agency, which he grew to be among the largest direct marketing agencies in the Southeast. He recently co-developed and taught a new undergraduate and master’s level course at Wake Forest University in marketing analytics.
1988
Allan Mills was elected chairman of the board of directors for the Project Management Institute Foundation (PMIEF). PMIEF’s mission is to inspire and empower people to realize their potential and transform their lives and their communities through use of project management knowledge. For more information, visit www.pmief.org.
1989
Jeanette Humphrey Byrd is the principal of Cummings Elementary, home to 685 students. She also teaches a 5:00 a.m. exercise boot camp at the YMCA, along with Sunday school. Jeanette is married to Alexander, a professor at Rice University.
Mark Collett is the owner of Park Hills Animal Hospital in Park Hills, Kentucky. He has been a veterinarian since 1996 when he received his certification from the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
1992
Jennifer Hale Stafford was recently promoted to director of the division of support and research in the office of assessment and accountability in the Kentucky Department of Education. Her husband,
Robert Stafford, ’89, completed his Ed.D. at Northern Kentucky University in 2015. Menelaos Karamichalis lives with his family in Colorado. He is touring the state by bicycle, when work permits.
1995
On behalf of President Lyle D. Roelofs, Dr. Monica Rodríguez represented Berea College at the August 29, 2015 inauguration ceremony of Dr. Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., the 14th president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
1998
Major Kristin L. Harlow-Smith retired in fall 2015 as flight commander of the Maternal Child Care Flight, 88th 
Operations Squadron, 88th Medical Group, Wright- Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, where she supervised nursing care for approximately 850 mothers and babies each year. After earning a nursing degree from Berea, she was a specialized perinatal nurse in the Nurse Corps. In 2003, Maj. Smith was selected for a special duty assignment as an aeromedical evacuation flight nurse and was deployed four times in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In 2011, she was assigned to the Wright-Patterson AFB Medical Center, where she advanced to the position of flight commander. Maj. Smith and her husband MSgt. (Ret) Josh Smith have two children, Kathryn and Joshua.
Ricky Kirk is enrolled in Sullivan University’s culinary arts program and is pursuing an associate of arts degree in culinary arts. He is employed at Solomon’s Porch Café and Catering in Wilmore, Kentucky.
2001
Karen Maynard studied the stunning ecosystems, fascinating array of unique desert plants and the diversity of life at the Bahía de los Ángeles UNESCO World Heritage site and in the crystal blue waters of the Sea of Cortez in summer Karen, an educator at Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, took the graduate course in pursuit of her master’s degree from Miami University’s Global Field Program.
2004
Birth: a son, Atticus Scott French, to Dara Evans and Kyle French, ’02, on October 16, 2015. Atticus has a big brother, Sawyer. The family resides in Berea.
2005
Tara Ann Kelly graduated in July 2015 with a M.S.N. in executive nursing administration from the University of South Alabama. She was escorted by her niece Aubrey Ann.
2011
Birth: a daughter, Autumn Paige Babcock, was born to Ashley Harris-Babcock and Derek Babcock on June 14, 2015. Ashley is a human resources representative at Amazon. The family resides in Thorntown, Indiana.
2014
Daryl A. Mangosing graduated in May 2015 from the Tufts University School of Medicine in Medford, Massachusetts with a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in health communication. In January, Daryl began working at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California San Francisco.
2015
Birth: a son, Theodore Aaron States, was born to Mary Esther States and Kevin States on October 4, 2015.
