40s
Sam and Nan Jean (Thomas) Roller ’49 ’49 celebrated their 60th anniversary on December 26, 2009. The couple has three daughters and son-in-laws, eight grandchildren (four boys and four girls) and one great-grandson. The Rollers are living in a retirement facility in Portland, OR, which has views of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and the Willamette River.
50s
Jean R. Holsten ’57 of Taylorsville, NC, celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband, Ed, on September 26, 2009. They have marked the milestone with a cruise to Alaska, a train and bus trip through the Canadian Rockies and a beach trip with their two sons and their families. They also celebrated with a formal dinner reception. “Wow!,” Jean writes. “We only splurge every 50 years!”
The Rev. Donald F. Garrett ’59 and his wife, Sharon, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2009.
60s
Jim Owen ’60 and his wife, Pat, have moved to Franklin, TN, to be closer to their grandchildren.
Annette Clark Gernhardt ’64 of Chesapeake, VA, writes that her health limits her travel, but she and her husband, Paul, are able to trade visits with their son, Alan, daughter-in-law Michele and granddaughter Sabrina. Annette would enjoy hearing from her Tusculum friends. Her e-mail is hatjt679@aol.com.
70s
Dr. Larry Brotherton ’70 of Easley, SC, has been elected as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA). Brotherton has served on SOCMA’s Board of Governors since 2000. SOCMA is the leading trade association of the batch, custom and specialty chemical industry since 1921. Its nearly 300 members employ more than 100,000 workers across the country and produce 50,000 products valued at $60 billion annually.
80s
The Rev. Lester Lattany ’87 ’91 of Johnson City, TN, is serving others through Christian ministry in a new way. After 18 years as pastor of a church in Kingsport, TN, Rev. Lattany has founded New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Johnson City, and his wife, daughters and son are all sharing in its ministry. The church’s inaugural service was held earlier this month. The family felt led to expand their ministry and Johnson City was the area to which they were led to form a Christ-centered church where people can worship, learn and grow. Rev. Lattany is president and CEO of the United Way of Washington County and describes its role along with that of pastor as completing the full circle of his personal ministry with the spiritual component fulfilled through the church and the humanitarian component filled through his work with the United Way. The new church is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Missionary and Education Association.
90s
Michael (Sledge) Sledzinski ‘90 has been appointed by the Tennessee Board of Regents to the position of associate HVAC/R technology instructor at Tennessee Technology Center Knoxville. Mike resides with his wife Connie in Lenoir City, TN, and would love to hear from classmates. He can be reached at Sledge11@charter.net.
Johnnie Lyons ’98 of Johnson City, TN, has joined Free Will Baptist Family Ministries as the administrator of Governor’s Bend, the first assisted-living facility to be constructed in Erwin, TN. The facility is under construction and expected to be completed in January 2011. Johnnie has 31 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including service at other assisted living facilities.
00s
Lorrie A. McGovern ’01 of Bristol, TN, has been appointed dean of the King College School of Business and Economics. McGovern is an associate professor of business at the school. Prior to her new role, she served as director for the Bachelor of Business Administration program. After earning her master’s from Tusculum, she continued her education, earning a doctorate of business administration with a concentration in marketing from Argosy University. Before entering education, she was the owner and affiliate broker for RE/MAX Central Realty. She also spent several years at the Bristol Chamber of Commerce as the director of community development.
Anup Kaphle ’07 has joined the Washington Post Opinions team as an editor-producer. Kaphle recently joined the newspaper from Atlantic Media. As a digital media fellow there, he helped to launch an opinions aggregator, implemented various social media applications and edited photos, video, graphics and text. He also made his way to Afghanistan on a South Asian Journalists Association Reporting fellowship and came back with fascinating photos and video. Born and raised in Nepal, Kaphle earned a graduate degree in new media from Columbia University’s Journalism School. In his new position, he will help conceive and implement ideas that get readers more involved in the conversation, that provide context and depth to content and that leverage new applications and technologies to make the Opinion section more dynamic, more influential, more interesting and more fun.
Ashley M. Kizer ’09 and Jason W. Van Norstran were married on August 28, 2009, at Bald River Falls in Tellico Plains, TN. Ashley is working for Molecular Pathology Laboratory.
Melissa McAffry Piercy ‘02 and Stefan Piercy ’99 ‘01 announce the birth of their third child, Mason Sharp Piercy, born August 4, 2009. They have a 2-year-old daughter Allison LeeAnn Piercy, born December 17, 2007, and a 6-year-old daughter, Olivia Anne Piercy, born May 21, 2003. Melissa is finishing graduate school at the University of Tennessee in the spring of 2010. Both are teaching and enjoying their family.
40s
Dr. Lynn B. Smith ’40 of Greeneville, TN, passed away December 11, 2009. Dr. Smith was a dentist. He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church. A veteran, Dr. Smith served as a medic in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was also a member of the American Dental Association, the Tennessee Dental Association, the Rotary Club and the Greeneville Dental Society. His survivors include his sons and Tusculum alumni Dr. Kevin Smith ’77 and Dr. Brian Smith ’82.
Juanita Ross Warner ’40 of Greeneville, TN, passed away on December 12, 2009, following an extended illness. While working as a home demonstration agent in Crossville, TN, she met Jack Warner, who was stationed there with the U.S. Army. After their marriage, the couple returned to Greene County to operate the family business, the W. C. Ross Company, which dealt with wholesale commodities for more than 60 years. Mrs. Warner was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where she had served as a ruling elder, teacher and as an active member of the Women’s Association as long as her health permitted. She was a former member and treasurer of the Andrew Johnson Women’s Club.
Bertha Ray Cathrall ’42 of Stratford, NJ, passed away on January 21, 2010. Mrs. Cathrall was a native of Greeneville, TN, and met her husband, Jack Cathrall ’41 at Tusculum College. She taught home economics for over 20 years at Triton High School in Camden County, NJ. The family has asked that contributions be made in Mrs. Cathrall’s memory to the Dixon Andrew Cathrall Memorial Scholarship Fund at Tusculum College, P.O. Box 5040, Greeneville, TN 37743. The couple had established the scholarship in memory of their son, a 1977 graduate of Tusculum.
Peter Rossi ’42 of Richmond, IN, passed away on June 18, 2009. In notifying the College of his death, his wife of 68-years Jean Thonas Rossi ’44 wrote, “We both loved Tusculum. We thank you for bringing us together.” Mr. Rossi was a retired banking industry executive.
Arland O. Honeycutt ’43 of Rockford, IL, passed away October 18, 2009. Mr. Honeycutt was a precision tool grinder and engineer for Barber Coleman. He was a veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II as a co-pilot on a B24 plane. He participated in several missions over Italy, Austria and other countries in the European Theatre of the war. His survivors include his sister and Tusculum alumna Helen Honeycutt Hartman ’59 and his niece Susan Hartman ’74.
Mary Alice Dickson Browder ’47 of Kingsport, TN, passed away November 17, 2009 after a short period of declining health. Mrs. Browder was a retired math teacher from Sullivan South High School. Her survivors include her sister and Tusculum alumna Dorothy Dickson Hawk ’48.
Dr. Marjorie Nelle Hyder Cardwell ’48 of Elizabethton, TN, passed away on December 26, 2009, after a brief illness. Dr. Cardwell is remembered by family and friends as a dedicated servant to God, the poor and the weak as well as a loving mother and wife. Although she held many degrees, Dr. Cardwell considered her most notable education was through her developmentally disabled son, Robbie. She taught speech and hearing in the Elizabethton City Schools for several years while starting classes for the mentally handicapped. In 1969, she combined her passion as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities with her career as she went to work at the state-operated Greene Valley Development Center. Dr. Cardwell served as superintendent of Greene Valley for several years as well as serving as superintendent of Clover Bottom Developmental Center. After she had retired, she was asked to return to state service as Assistant Commissioner and later as Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. She was known statewide as a crusader, advocating for all people regardless of how differently-abled or their status in society. Dr. Cardwell had a strong faith, and was guided by her favorite Bible verse, Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” She taught Sunday School for decades at the First Baptist Church of Elizabethton. She was active in the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC), Holston Methodist Home for Children, the Carter County-Elizabethton Library Association, the Southern Baptist Convention, Watauga Association, Hale Community Ministries, along with many organizations that benefited people of all walks of life.
Donald A. Maxwell ’48 of Kingsport, TN, passed away on September 26, 2009. He was retired from Eastman Chemical Company after 36 years of service as a chemist. Mr. Maxwell was a longtime member of Bethany Presbyterian Church and the Warrior’s Path Volunteer Fire Department. A veteran, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a radio operator and mechanic for three years. He was awarded the American Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. His survivors include his wife of 58 years and Tusculum alumna Mary Louise Jordan Maxwell ’50.
Jay I. Brooks, Jr., ’49 of Portsmouth, VA, passed away November 30, 2009. Mr. Brooks was retired from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He had served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and was a service officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was also an active member of the American Legion and National Association of Retired Federal Employees. His survivors include his wife of 59 years and Tusculum alumna Lynn Allison Brooks ’49.
50s
Judy Scholl Magill ’55 of Birmingham, AL, passed away on September 29, 2009. Mrs. Magill was a life-long educator. She was certified to teach in both elementary and secondary grades, but her favorite was first grade. When she was not teaching, she was directing a kindergarten-daycare facility. While she lived in Knoxville, TN, she was a devoted member of Lake Forest Presbyterian Church. During her last years in Knoxville, Mrs. Magill enjoyed working as a volunteer with Baptist Hospice. She was instrumental in establishing a support group called Bridges for widows who needed help in beginning a new life after the death of their husbands. After moving to Birmingham, Mrs. Magill became a member of Shades Valley Presbyterian Church.
Zella Dunn Malone ’57 of Greeneville, TN, passed away January 10, 2010, after a year-long battle with leukemia. Mrs. Malone was a retired teacher, having taught school for 31 years at EastView Elementary School in Greeneville. She was very active in her community as a member of Wesley’s Chapel Grange and Baileyton Chapter No 319, Order of the Eastern Star. She had been a member of the Grange since the 1950s and, in 1992 was named “Granger of the Year” for the State of Tennessee. She was a reporter to the Tennessee Granger and was a former director of Junior Grange at the state level. Throughout the years, she had been a Grange lecturer at the local level and a chairperson of community service, as well as assisting in legislative, deaf awareness and women’s activities. Mrs. Malone was also a long-time community correspondent to The Greeneville Sun newspaper for her home community of Wesley’s Chapel. She was a member of Wesley’s Chapel United Methodist Church for more than 65 years, where she was a lay leader, taught the Young Adult Class and was a member of the United Methodist Women.
Dallas W. Maddron ’50 of Winter Park, FL, passed away on January 16, 2010. A native of Newport, TN, Mr. Maddron volunteered to join the U.S. Navy while in the 12th grade and deployed to the South Pacific where he served for 15 months during World War II. Upon returning from the war, he enrolled in Tusculum, earning a degree in biology and chemistry. After he was unable to get into medical school, Mr. Maddron decided to pursue a career in education, finding a position teaching science and coaching basketball at Topsail High School in Hampstead, NC. He later completed a master’s degree in education and biology. Mr. Maddron then took a position at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies where he trained to teach and interpret atomic science. He traveled the nation in a teaching mobile, lecturing in high schools, colleges, museums and to large gatherings such as state fairs and conventions to explain atomic energy and its benefits. In 1959, Mr. Maddron moved to Florida to accept a position with Orange County Public Schools to help start what is now the Orlando Science Center. He was the science center’s first planetarium curator and later became the science supervisor for Orange County Public Schools, where he worked for 35 years until his retirement and oversaw a program that became recognized as one of the best in the nation. He started an environmental education program at local state parks and a learning program for teachers at Disney’s EPCOT Center’s Land Pavilion. He served as the director of the Southeastern Consortium of Minority Engineers, a program that aided minority students with paid internships with local industries. He received numerous awards in the field of science education. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Winter Park.
60s
Edward Smelcer ’62 of Kinston, NC, passed away on October 10, 2009. Mr. Smelcer was plant manager at Austin-Carolina Tobacco Co., with 42 years of service. He was a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
70s
Roger Bragdon ’73 of Duncan, SC, passed away on February 5, 2008. Mr. Bragdon was retired, having served as assistant superintendent at Greene Valley Developmental Center in Greeneville, TN. He was also a veteran, having serving in the Army.
00s
Dionne Benton ’04 of Knoxville, TN, passed away on January 14, 2010, after a battle with cancer. Ms. Benton was a proud employee of US Cellular. She had earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational management and had started to pursue her master’s degree in organizational management when she was diagnosed. She was a member of Redemption Center International. Her survivors include sister and Tusculum alumna Deborah Benton ’08.