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.
1945
Robert B. Dodd moved into an assisted living home in Lake Mary, Florida. He is married to Victoria and has a son and four daughters, two of whom live in Florida.
1952
Clara B. Bradbury and Raymond Bradbury, Acad ’46, celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary on November 28, 2015. Clara had surgery on July 27, 2015 for ovarian cancer and is now having
chemotherapy. She is a survivor.
Martha Frances King is still enjoying Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. She plays golf three times a week (except from December to February). She has four wonderful grandchildren.
Urban T. Peters is now retired after a career as a guidance counselor. He now is the owner of an apartment complex.
1954
Nancy Biddix McKinnis and her husband, William, attended her 60th graduation reunion. They enjoyed meeting with classmates and seeing the changes around campus. Nancy has been ill because of a hip replacement. She is improving slowly and is comforted by friends and family.
Evelyn Glass Walton retired as a teacher from the Martinsville, Virginia City Schools. Her two daughters, Molly and Terry, live in Martinsville, as do her three grandchildren, Stafford, Amanda and Justin. Evelyn wanted to say “hello” to the Class of 1954.
1958
Marion “Marty” Atkinson and Suzanne “Sue” Hile Atkinson are both enjoying retirement.
1959
Larry Baber and Annette Meeks Baber ’61 are retired and living in Hendersonville, North Carolina. They spend their time doing as they please. Their two children and three grandchildren live nearby.
1960
Dr. Bob Compton retired in summer 2015 after a distinguished career in physics and chemistry at both the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee (UT). An article about his career, as well as a photograph of him on the Berea College track team circa 1960, appeared in CrossSections, a newsletter for UT physics alumni and friends.
1962
Celia Hooper Miles is the co-editor of the October release of It’s All Relative: Tales from the Tree, from 50 western North Carolina women writers, the fourth anthology since 2008.
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
Ahmad Baharestan owns and operates a farm in Jefferson County, Tennessee. He also owns a mobile home park and is a design landscaper.
1965
George Spiggle and Nancy Spiggle have relocated to Spring Hill, Florida. They welcome a visit from any of their old friends. Contact them at gspiggle@gmail.com or nspiggle@gmail.com.
1966
Margaret Curd Dotson, Ph.D., teaches in the Berea College Child & Family Studies department and resides in Berea with her husband, Adrian Dotson ’65. Margaret was selected by the Berea College chapter of the national honor society, Phi Kappa Phi, to receive its “2015-16 Professor of the Year Award.”
E.G. Moody was elected chancellor of Sullivan County, Tennessee on September 1, 2014 for an 8-year term.
Larry Templeton retired from Thornton Township High School district in 2001 where he taught industrial arts. Following retirement, he moved to Surprise, Arizona in 2004. Larry now works for the Transportation Security Administration. His wife, Patricia, was an ICU/CCU nurse for 26 years and retired in 2012. Larry and Patricia have two children, Jason and Patty.
1967
Don Hirschman is retired and living in Palm Harbor, Florida.
1968
Roy Asher and Barbara Thompson Asher, Jeanie Wilson Giambri, Gary Marcum ’67 and Carol Bundy Marcum ’68 recently got together for a mini-Berea reunion January 16-18 in Tipp City, Ohio. They have stayed in touch since first meeting at Berea in 1964.
1969
Pamela Ann Sowder and Joseph M. Sowder are enjoying retirement. They would like for fellow classmates to join them on Facebook to renew old memories as their 50-year class reunion approaches.
1973
Philip Huddleston of Frankfort, Kentucky, is chief of staff for the lieutenant governor of Kentucky and formerly chief of staff for the president of the Kentucky Senate. He has been married to Pat Moreland for 43 years. They have one daughter and two grandchildren.
1974
Jessica Wrenn Ellis and Carson Ellis ‘75 have three sons, Nathan, Justin and Jared, and four grandchildren, Garrett, Lucas, Chloe and Ryder. Jessica is a corporation workers’ compensation manager for Evergreen Packaging Inc. Carson retired November 3, 2015 after 31 years in management with Ingles Markets.
1977
David Jennings and Judy Fitch Jennings ’78 retired from the Lee County School system in Beattyville, Kentucky. David was a counselor and Judy was a principal. They have three daughters, Sara, Mary and Ellen Grace. They’re enjoying retirement with their two granddaughters, working on their beef cattle farm, golfing, reading, traveling and working part-time. Their address is P.O. Box 314, Beattyville, KY 41311. Email djsme7@wildblue.net
1979
Judy Rafson continues to work for Vidant Beaufort Hospital as an occupational health nurse practitioner at PotashCorp, Aurora, North Carolina. She lives in New Bern, North Carolina.
Married: Duane E. Lewis to Rex VanAlstine in October 2015 on the couple’s 24th anniversary.
Dr. Duane E. Lewis, a junior warden of Calvary welcome speech at the dedication of the George E. Ferguson Garden and blessing of the Homeless Jesus statue at the church on June 14, 2015.
The statue, by artist Timothy Schmalz, is a representation that suggests Jesus is with the most marginalized in society. Shrouded in a blanket, the only indication that the statue is Jesus is the crucifixion wounds on the feet. The Rev. Canon Wilson Willard ’59 performed the scripture reading for the ceremony.
1983
Danette Combs Crosby is a training specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio where she writes instructional curriculum for the U.S. Air Force and is the team leader for a cadre of instructors. Danette may be reached at danette.crosby@us.af.mil.
1986
Randy Hays, vice president and dean of student life at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, was recognized with the Dr. Fred Rhodes Outstanding Service award at the 2016 College Personnel Association of Kentucky (CPAK) conference conducted on Centre’s campus.
The award commends outstanding professionals who have made significant professional contributions or achievements on campus, or at the state or regional level.
Donna McClure serves as the eastern Kentucky field representative for United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Donna also is the guest service coordinator for The Creek Church in London, Kentucky.
1987
Brent Long and Carmen Long reside in Sparta, North Carolina. He became the associate superintendent of Alleghany County Schools on November 1, 2015. Carmen became the area extension agent for family and government services serving Alleghany and Surry counties with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension on October 1, 2015.
1996
Julie Watson is author and publisher of the historical fiction novel Almost Home: A Katie Galloway Adventure, which is available at Amazon.com. Her book chronicles the life of a young girl growing up during Reconstruction following the Civil War in the war-torn South. Julie wrote the book to encourage an interest in history and help readers realize that despite the time or place, life is full of challenges. She wrote under the pen name Mercy Givens.
1997
Rod Carbonell and Rebecca (Sirkel) Carbonell ’96 celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in November 2015. The couple moved to Austin, Texas in January.
1999
Amy Burkhardt Harmon was recently promoted to associate vice president for development at San Diego State University. She and her husband, John D. Harmon ‘95, reside in San Diego, California where John’s band, “John and the Time Traveling Bicycle,” recently released their latest album titled, “The Acquisition of Memories.”
Sid Mitra was promoted to resources portfolio manager at Passport Global, a $4.4 billion San Francisco-based hedge fund. Sid will help manage the investment process and work closely with a team of sector portfolio managers. He will also manage larger sleeves in the Global Fund across multiple sectors. This news was announced by the fund’s founder, John Burbank, in a letter to Passport investors that was published in a January 2016 article by Business Insider.
2001
David Wilson graduated from Concordia University-Chicago with a master’s degree in educational leadership. He teaches third grade for Columbus City Schools in Ohio. David and his wife, Nicole (Black) Wilson, reside in Bexley, Ohio with their three children.
2002
Married: Jessica Blankenship ’02 and Anthony Bray on December 12, 2015. They both reside in London, Kentucky, where Jessica is a music journalist for Kentucky Country Magazine and a regional transportation planner. She can be reached at kyphotographer@gmail.com.
C.E. Morgan received the Windham-Campbell prize from Yale University for her writing in the drama category. She is one of nine recipients who were honored for their literary achievements or their potential.
Married: Katie Morgan to Will Guild on April 9, 2016 in Berea, Kentucky.
2005
Birth: a daughter, Clara Noelle, born to Suzie Loveday and Jeremy Fink on March 3, 2016. The couple resides in Lexington, Kentucky, with their new baby girl and sibling Gabriella. Suzie works for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government as a grants manager and Jeremy teaches math at Scott County High School.
2006
Birth: a daughter, Uella Jane, born to Cheryll (Worley) Hays and Dennis Hays ’07 on December 31, 2015.
2008
Jeremy McQueen is CEO and co-founder of Mountain Tech Media, based in Whitesburg, Kentucky, and Rebecca Tucker ’09 started a new position at Berea College Partners for Education in December 2015. They reside in Somerset, Kentucky.
2009
Dr. Errinn Bixby earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in December 2015.
Married: Dr. Errinn Bixby to Jonavi Peredo on September 19, 2015.
Married: Jessica Frazier to Jared Schmal on May 1, 2015. The couple is celebrating their first year of marriage. After eight years together they finally eloped to Mosfellsbaer, Iceland.
2012
Christina Best and Joshua Best ‘13 live in Philadelphia where Joshua is employed through the University of Pennsylvania in an internship program as an apprenticing arborist. Christina is employed at Eastern University as a resident director and housing coordinator for campus.
Sarah McLewin Kincaid graduated in December 2015 from George Mason University with a Master of Science in conflict analysis and resolution.
She now teaches in Alexandria, Virginia and resides in Arlington with her husband, Kyle Kincaid ’13.
Married: Kelsey Torres to Juan Torres ’11 on May 10, 2014. They have one son, Paulo Alexander Torres. Kelsey is a 6th grade language teacher at Swansboro Middle School while Juan works at Hunters Creek Elementary.
Episcopal Church in Cincinnati Ohio, gave the Elizabeth Vega has been very involved in the Ferguson movement. In 2014, she co-founded Artivists Stl, a collective of artists who make social justice visual; and in 2015, ROOTS CoOP, a housing collaborative for black and brown activists. Most recently, the Smithsonian accepted Artivists’ mirrored casket for display at the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, scheduled to open in September 2016.
2013
Birth: a daughter, Terra Athena, born to Benjamin Kirkpatrick and Jessica (Bailey) King on April 9, 2015. Terra arrived one week and two days before the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
2014
Jessica Powell accepted a position at Summit Professional Education in Franklin, Tennessee as an events and logistics specialist. Summit provides around 2,000 workshops around the country to healthcare professionals so they can maintain their state licensure. Jessica will be working to set up the workshops and travel plans for instructors
