’60s
Wilson selected as member of inaugural Hall of Fame class for John I. Burton High School
Richard L. “Stan” Wilson ’66 of Norton, VA, has been selected as of the five individuals in the inaugural John I. Burton High School Hall of Fame Class. He will be recognized as the Norton, VA, high school’s Hall of Fame Night football game on Sept. 12 and will be honored at an induction banquet on Sept. 13. Wilson was a legendary basketball coach and player at Burton.
As a high school basketball player, Stan garnered All-State and All-Lonesome Pine District honors while scoring over 1,000 career points. He also holds the school record for the most points scored in a single game with 43.
The gym at Burton is named for Wilson and is where he spent a vast portion of his life as head coach at the school from 1970 until his retirement in 2009.
His 541 career victories at Burton give him the most wins for a Group A high school boys basketball coach in Virginia High School League history and the most wins for a high school boys basketball coach west of Roanoke.
During his coaching tenure, his teams won 12 Lonesome Pine District tournament championships, five regular-season district championships, seven Region D championships and made eight state basketball tournament appearances.
’70s
Bruce McKinney ’76 writes that it has been his desire for some time to contact his old friends “Bruce Jensen, Dave Moody Denise, Elsie, Linda, Ron Newman and Cindy all of the gang who hung out at Craig Hall” for those late night pinochle games, Connie’s and the trip to Ned’s for the hot fudge. He asks his fellow alums to contact him if they remember “Steady Eddie” at bemckinney@gmail.com.
’00s
Henri Lespinasse ’08 and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their second child in December 2014. Henri is currently working for himself as owner of Hdmi Media, a video production company. He was co-editor of the award-winning documentary “GreasePaint” (2013), which follows Joey Thurmond and his family as they travel around the country performing as circus clowns. The film is available at Best Buy, Amazon, f.y.e. and Hulu. Henri is currently working on upcoming films and documentaries.
Sarah Creutzinger ’05 and Edward Arellano Maira were married at July 5 in Greeneville, TN, at Still Hollow Farm. Following the wedding, the couple enjoyed traveling in North Carolina. The couple live in Santiago, Chile, where Sarah is a middle school principal at Lincoln International Academy. Sarah is the daughter of Scott Niswonger ’87 H’06.
Joseph John Vogt II ’12 and Christy Danielle Johnson were married June 28 at the General Morgan Inn in Greeneville. Brett DePalma ’11 was best man and the groomsmen included Brian Alexander ’14 and Joe’s father, Kelly Vogt ’83. Following a wedding trip to Jamaica, the couple is living in Johnson City, TN. Joe works in AT&T customer services. His grandparents are Joe and Kathy Vogt ’53 ’56.
Felicia Waters ’14 and Daniel Holt were married on July 28. Following a honeymoon cruise, the couple is living in Newport, TN.
’40s
Agnes Marilyn McClain Brownyer ’42 of Medford, OR, passed away March 23, 2014. A native of Oregon, Mrs. Brownyer was a school teacher for many years. She earned a master’s degree in teaching and later a doctorate in nutrition. She enjoyed playing bridge and reading.
Betsy Jean Bowman ’45 of Greeneville, TN, passed away July 28, 2014. After graduating from Tusculum, she began her working career as a news reporter at The Greeneville Sun. Ms. Bowman earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Tennessee in 1957. Her career in social work began that year as she began working with veterans at Mountain Home in Johnson City, TN. The following year she became a child welfare case worker in the Department of Public Welfare in Johnson City. Ms. Bowman then returned to the Veterans Administration in 1964 and worked with veterans until 1972. Prior to her retirement in 1974, she was director of the Area Project on Aging with the First Tennessee-Virginia Development District. After retirement, she moved to Greeneville, a community she had grown to love as a girl spending summers and holidays with her grandparents there. Ms. Bowman was a dedicated and active citizen in Greeneville. She served as Greeneville alderman from 1989 to 1997. Ms. Bowman also proved her commitment to the community as a member of many local organizations, including the Tuesday Book Club; the Greene County Heritage Trust, of which she was a lifetime member; the Greeneville Arts Council; the Pilot Club of Greeneville, and the Andrew Johnson Club. She also served on the Greene Valley Foster Grandparents Advisory Committee, the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society Board, the Greeneville-Greene County Library Board, the Oak Grove Cemetery Association Board and the Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center Board, along with the Lost State of Franklin State Commission. The history of Greeneville was her passion, with her main focus on the downtown area. She was an active member of Main Street: Greeneville for many years. Ms. Bowman was the co-coordinator of the Greene County Bicentennial in 1983 and took a major role in coordinating Greene County activities related to the Tennessee Homecoming ’86 celebrations. She was deeply involved in the founding of the Nathanael Greene Museum in the mid-1980s and continued to be a leader and a strong supporter of the museum through the years. She also originated a Sun newspaper column focusing on the museum. Ms. Bowman chaired the Heritage Trust Committee for the restoration of The Big Spring and the development of the time capsule burial site and ceremony in Bicentennial Park. She also chaired the Christmas in Olde Greene Committee and prepared the artistically designed and informative program for the annual Heritage Trust Early American Christmas Dinner until recently. After writing several columns for The Greeneville Sun during the Bicentennial, she began writing a new column for the newspaper in 1976 known as “Nostalgia is. . .” After 10 years writing the column, she began publishing a compilation of her bimonthly articles in three volumes of “Nostalgia is” in book form in 1986, 1989 and 1990. After its original publication called “The Greene County Story,” which appeared in The Greeneville Sun’s 100th-year-in-business celebration in 1979, Mrs. Bowman edited and published “A Walk Through Greeneville” in 1991, which was a compilation written by her grandfather, William Walter Harmon, from a diary he kept during the 1920s. Her love for film and classic movies inspired her to write and publish “The World of Flickering Light and Shadow” in 2001. Ms. Bowman was a member of Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Harry Kendall ’48 of Dellwood, FL, passed away August 8, 2014. Dr. Kendall was a remarkable man who was orphaned at age 10 then raised between his brother and two sisters. He volunteered for the Marine Corps at 17 following Pearl Harbor. He served in the South Pacific during the war then using the GI bill to earn his physics degree from Tusculum. He received his master’s from Florida State University and his doctorate from the University of Florida. One of his first jobs was teaching at Chipola Junior College in Florida. He went on to teach at Emory and Henry College in Virginia and then became a charter faculty member of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Kendall had a passion for teaching, loved the outdoors, his family and his country.
Sue Overton Walker ’48 of Knoxville, TN, passed away August 6, 2014. In 1960, she was hired to be an administrative secretary at Fort Sanders Presbyterian Hospital in Knoxville. She earned the professional title of “Certified Professional Secretary” and was active in the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Mrs. Walker was recognized several times as the local Secretary of the Year and once progressed to an international competition, where she placed second. After retiring, she returned to the hospital as the part-time receptionist in the surgical lounge for 10 years. She was a member of Graystone Presbyterian Church, where she served as an elder, Sunday School superintendent, and several terms as Clerk of Session. Mrs. Walker was a member of the South Knoxville Opti-Mrs. Club. She was also a member of the McGhee-Tyson Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Mrs. Walker was on the board of the John Sevier Memorial Association and a long-time member of the East Tennessee Historical Society. She was also a member of the Clan Stewart Society in America and the Daughters of the American Revolution. The family asked that any donations in lieu of flowers be sent to Tusculum, Graystone Presbyterian Church or the Fort Sanders Foundation.
’60s
Arlene Arnht Roper ’63 of Scottsdale, AZ, wife of Michael Roper ’61, passed away on May 4, 2014.
’70s
Earl W. Fletcher Jr. ’76 of Mosheim, TN, passed away suddenly on August 22, 2014. He was serving as executive director of the Nathanael Greene Museum in Greeneville at the time of his passing and had been elected to serve as a member of the Greene County Commission earlier in the month. Mr. Fletcher was a retired teacher and coach, having taught for 30 years in the Greene County School System. He also served as president of Washington College Academy, from which he was a graduate, for three years. He served from 1985 to 2003 as an alderman for the Town of Mosheim. Among his achievements as an alderman was his conception of the idea to hold an annual re-enactment of the Civil War Battle of Blue Springs. He served as director of the annual re-enactment for its first 10 years, which was held on a farm near Mosheim and grew to one of the largest Civil War re-enactments between Nashville and Richmond. Known for his strong and enthusiastic interest in history, Mr. Fletcher was serving as the official Greene County Historian at the time of his passing. Under his leadership, the Nathanael Greene Museum had experienced major growth in attendance, number of galleries and new exhibits. He had been deeply involved in the last several years in the development of the museum’s Mary Gertrude K. Fox Park, located diagonally across South Main Street from the museum. Mr. Fletcher was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Greeneville. He was also a member of the Mosheim Masonic Lodge, the Greene County Scottish Rite Club and a member of American Legion Post No. 64.