Rhodes The Magazine of Rhodes College - Spring 20201

SPRING 2021

The Magazine of Rhodes College

Back to

Campus A wide-ranging community engagement program is a fundamental part of the Rhodes College experience.

PLUS

President Hass Departs Rhodes After four transformative years in Memphis, Dr. Marjorie Hass will become president of a Washingtonbased association of colleges and universities.

Leaders in Medicine Rhodes alumni hold high positions in the world of healthcare.

Commencement 2020 & 2021 Following strict social-distancing protocols, Rhodes held two commencement events, honoring the graduates of 2020 and 2021.

The Rhodes Vision

Rhodes College aspires to graduate students with a lifelong passion for learning, a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concerns into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.

We will achieve our aspiration through four strategic imperatives: Student Access To attract and retain a talented, diverse student body and engage these students in a challenging, inclusive, and culturally broadening college experience.

Student Learning To ensure our faculty and staff have the talent, the time, and the resources to inspire and involve our students in meaningful study, research, and service.

Student Engagement To enhance student opportunities for learning in Memphis.

Student Inspiration To provide a residential place of learning that inspires integrity and high achievement through its beauty, its emphasis on values, its Presbyterian history, and its heritage as a leader in the liberal arts and sciences.

Adopted by the Rhodes Board of Trustees January 17, 2003

INFORMATION 901-843-3000

THIS ISSUE Spring 2021

Marjorie Hass PRESIDENT

Jenna Goodloe Wade VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT

4 — Letter from President Hass 6 — Under the Oaks 18 — Presidential Search 20 — Interim President Carroll Stevens, J.D. 38 — Class Notes 79 — In Memoriam

Tracy Vezina Patterson ’84, ’P22 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Martha Shephard ’66 EDITOR EMERITUS

J. Dylan Sandifer ’12 DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Charles W. Kenny ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

©2021 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any of the materials contained herein is forbidden without the expressed written consent of Rhodes College.

2

ALUMNI OFFICE 1-800-264-LYNX ADMISSION OFFICE 1-800-844-LYNX Please send address changes to: alumni@rhodes.edu

Rhodes magazine is published by Creative Content by CMI, a subsidiary of Contemporary Media, Inc. Anna Traverse Fogle

Bryan Rollins

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

ART DIRECTOR

Jeffrey Goldberg

Samuel X. Cicci ’15

CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Michael Finger

Abigail Morici ’21

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

Frank Murtaugh

Justin Fox Burks

MANAGING EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHER

FEATURES

14

President Hass Departs Rhodes After four transformative years in Memphis, Dr. Marjorie Hass will become president of a Washington-based association of colleges and universities.

By Anna Traverse Fogle

22

Back to Campus Thorough planning from Rhodes College and its healthcare partners saw students return to campus for the Spring 2021 semester.

By Samuel X. Cicci ’15

28

Leaders in Medicine Rhodes alumni hold high positions in the world of healthcare.

By Abigail Morici ’21

34

Commencement 2020 & 2021 This year, following strict social-distancing protocols, Rhodes held two commencement events, honoring the graduates of 2020 and 2021 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

3

4

Letter from President Hass Dear Friends,

One of the brightest lights in this pandemic year has been the support and affection we received from our alumni and friends as we made extremely difficult health and safety decisions. Your moral and financial support made the difference between a year of disaster and a year of hope. We knew from the start that our response would need to be guided by our core values: excellence in teaching and learning, support for our employees, recognition of the diversity within our community, a commitment to scientific research and advice, and a responsibility to remain financially sound.

In this issue you will read in more detail about how we lived up to these values and the ways that our students, faculty, and staff rose to meet the challenges of these unprecedented circumstances. I am grateful to them and to the broader Rhodes family. We couldn’t have done it without the grace and generosity of each of you.

Of particular assistance this year were the many Rhodes alumni who have pursued career success in the medical field. Rhodes doesn’t just produce great doctors; it produces leaders and shapers of public health policy and innovation.

In our times of uncertainty this year, we were able to harness this expertise. The pandemic has increased student interest in the fields of medicine, scientific research, and public health.

Our strong admission results this year — we are enrolling a record-sized first-year class — is in part a tribute to our academic prowess in these fields. This issue will give you a glimpse of the

way some Lynx are making their mark.

You will also be able to read about my own transition to a policy and leadership role in Washington, D.C. It is bittersweet for me. I am honored to have been called to serve independent higher education at a national level, but I am sad to be leaving our campus. Serving as your president has been an honor and a pleasure.

I will be a lifelong Lynx and look forward to serving Rhodes and its mission from this new position. You can count on my ongoing support and engagement.

I have been meeting regularly with incoming interim president Carroll Stevens to foster a smooth transition. We are both confident in a successful search and committed to assisting the next president once named.

I often say that at Rhodes we measure our success not by what we do for our students but by what our graduates do for the world. By this measure, Rhodes is an outstanding success.

Thank you for the ways you serve and lead in your communities. The current and future generations of Rhodes students depend on your support so that they too can become world changers.

Serving as the president of Rhodes College has been an honor and a pleasure. In my new role in Washington, D.C., I will continue to serve the cause of independent higher education.

Marjorie Hass

5

Under the Oaks

6

Africana Studies Grows

One year in, the Africana Studies major at Rhodes celebrates its first graduate.

Dr. Charles McKinney

Molly Webster ’21

Last year, Rhodes Africana Studies Program launched a new academic major, all while classes met online during a global pandemic. The college conferred a diploma on the major’s first graduate, Molly Webster ’21, at commencement May 15.

“The Africana Studies Program is filled with compassionate and dedicated faculty who truly want to see their students succeed,” says Webster. “Through the program, I feel I have gained access to a true liberal arts education, gaining an Afrocentric perspective that is frequently not highlighted in other courses. I’m so excited to see the many majors to come and the work that they will do.”

A minor in Africana Studies already was offered at Rhodes, but in Spring 2020, the Rhodes College faculty approved the major, which prepares students to be critical, thoughtful global citizens ready to succeed in a complex and diverse world. The Africana Studies Program also engages faculty from various departments and allows students to seek appropriate ways to integrate content and analysis with their work in other disciplines and programs.

“This is an exciting new major that will equip our students to be informed and to participate in national conversations about race, equity, and social justice from a variety of disciplines and critical perspectives,” says Dr. Katherine Clay Bassard, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “There could not have been better timing, and I commend the faculty for approving Africana Studies as a major at Rhodes.” Bassard also is a professor of English and Africana studies.

Dr. Charles McKinney, associate professor of history and the Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Africana Studies at Rhodes College, forecasts that future generations will look back on 2020 as a pivotal year in the African-American struggle for freedom, justice, and equality in the United States. McKinney and the program’s faculty were able to create spaces for inquiry, complicated conversations, and

“Slowly but surely, we’ve built a set of courses that enable our students to contend with the myriad issues made manifest in this moment. This is good and necessary work.”

thoughtful reflection with courses such as Black Sociology, Identity Conflicts in Africa, The Civil Rights Movement, Urban Education, Diseases and Healing in Africa, Urban Politics and Policy, and African American Activism, as well as courses on African-American experiences in music, literature, and film.

“Slowly but surely, we’ve built a set of courses that enable our students to contend with the myriad issues made manifest in this moment. This is good and necessary work,” says McKinney. “However, I’m particularly proud of the fact that the major’s core courses — along with our electives — provide students an entryway into some of the central questions and issues that societies have grappled with since forever. Questions of meaning and value; race and democracy; the ordering of society and the meaning of freedom. Africana Studies touches on all of these and more.”

This past year, the Africana Studies Program sponsored a virtual event on combating anti-Asian racism and virtual lectures on race and capitalism by scholar Charisse Burden-Stelly, hip hop in the contemporary America South by scholar Regina Bradley, medical apartheid by author Harriet Washington, and abolitionist education by author Bettina Love.

Rhodes sophomore Jahari Shelton says he decided to declare Africana Studies as a major because “it offers something no other program does. While other departmental courses depict Black experiences within a given subject matter, Africana Studies grounds study in the Black worldview. As opposed to including voices from the African diaspora in the Eurocentric curriculum, Africana Studies understands the world from the position of Black subjects across the globe.”

McKinney adds that he is looking forward to the growth of the program. “As it moves forward, faculty will continue to explore new, innovative ways to bring students into dialogue with the rich, interdisciplinary tradition inherent in Africana Studies,” he says. “Courses on Black women’s activism, the blues, war and genocide in Africa, urban politics and policy, and slavery and capitalism will carry students across continents and centuries, all with the purpose of exploring the human condition from an Africana lens.”

7

Faculty Earn Mentor Awards Council on Undergraduate Research honors three Rhodes professors with outstanding mentorship awards.

Professor Shana Stoddard

Dr. Shana Stoddard, assistant professor of chemistry, is the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) Health Sciences Division. The division recognizes transformative mentoring and advising by higher education faculty across all subdivisions of health sciences — wellness, disease, healthcare, and health management — with awards in the early-career, mid-career, and advanced-career categories.

“I am truly humbled to receive the Council on Undergraduate Research Health Sciences Division early-career mentor award,” says Stoddard. “I am grateful to have a group of mentors myself who have not only equipped me to be an effective and engaging mentor, but who also helped open a space for me to be a mentor at Rhodes College. Receiving this award encourages me to be even more diligent in mentoring.”

Stoddard’s Molecular Immunotherapeutics Research lab at Rhodes is made up of a diverse group of students using a combination of computational chemistry, biochemistry, and cell-based assays to conduct research focused on improving patient outcomes with autoimmune disorders, cancers, neurological disorders, and coronaviruses. Several of Stoddard’s students have co-authored papers published in journals.

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to them their own. This ideology perfectly represents Dr. Shana Stoddard’s role as a professor and as a mentor to her students,” says chemistry major Kennedi E. Fitts ’21. “She encourages students to continue on whatever journey genuinely fulfills them. She does this by sharing the richness of her story — her obstacles and triumphs. She then utilizes such experiences to push her students to discover their own purposes. Through this, she impacts students on a personal level — one that forces them to understand themselves in a way

8

they didn’t before meeting Dr. Stoddard. She truly puts her entire being into making sure her students feel that they belong in the room — and if they don’t, she provides them with the confidence to eventually come to that realization.”

Stoddard received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Mississippi in 2013 and went to work for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Radiological Sciences. She came to Rhodes in 2015 as a William Randolph Hearst Teaching Fellow and joined the Department of Chemistry as assistant professor in 2017.

Professor Christopher Seaton

Dr. Christopher Seaton, professor of mathematics at Rhodes, is a 2021 recipient of the Mentor Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) Mathematics and Computer Sciences Division. The award recognizes three mentors (early-career, mid-career, and advanced-career) for their leadership and accomplishments in mentoring undergraduate students in research involving mathematics, computer science, or statistics.

“Working on research with Rhodes students is one of my most enjoyable activities as a faculty member, and I am extremely excited and honored to have been selected by the CUR for this award,” says Seaton, who is being recognized in the award’s advanced-career category.

Since joining Rhodes in 2004, Seaton has motivated students to overcome reservations about learning difficult mathematical concepts. His courses include Multivariable Calculus, Vector and Advanced Calculus, Cryptology, Linear Algebra, and Complex Variables. Seaton also encourages students to pursue applications of this material outside of mathematics while appreciating how mathematics is present in everyday structures and shapes.

with Chris offers a great example of what undergraduate research can look like at a place such as Rhodes.”

Professor Loretta Jackson-Hayes

Dr. Loretta Jackson-Hayes, the James H. Daughdrill Professor in the Natural Sciences, is a 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) Chemistry Division. The division recognizes transformative mentoring and advising by higher education faculty across all subdivisions of chemistry.

“It is my sincere desire to open doors for students and faculty, as so many doors were graciously opened for me by my mentors and supporters,” says Jackson-Hayes. “I am truly humbled to be recognized for these efforts.”

Since joining Rhodes in 2003, Jackson-Hayes not only has been committed to mentoring undergraduate researchers, but also to contributing to curricular development that includes research experiences for students and establishing programs that support and mentor faculty who are working with undergraduates doing publishable research.

In addition, Jackson-Hayes serves as chair of Rhodes’ Department of Chemistry and holds a position in academic affairs leadership as director for scholarly and creative activity mentoring. Her scholarly work includes research on genes required for fungal cell wall synthesis and maintenance during development. She has published and presented talks on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education in the liberal arts envi-

ronment, emphasizing that students become better scientists when they draw from other disciplines.

Jackson-Hayes holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Memphis and a B.S. from Tougaloo College, and she has made a concerted effort to engage students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on her research team.

“By my count, Loretta has been the sole or principal research mentor to 33 different students while at Rhodes, the great majority of whom worked with her for multiple semesters and summers,” says Dr. Terry Hill, professor of biology at Rhodes and a 2020 recipient of CUR’s Advanced Career Mentor Award in the Biology Division.

“The effectiveness of Loretta’s work with all these students can be seen in a number of ways. One is that of the 27 students who have already graduated, 16 have been listed as co-authors on the papers originating in her lab. Loretta has a high threshold for student authorship, expecting not just that a student will have made a meaningful technical contribution, but also that the student will have gained genuine intellectual ownership of some part of the project.

“We see effectiveness as well in the fact that of her 27 lab alums, seven have gone on to Ph.D. programs in the sciences, including two students from our HBCU connections, and another very recent HBCU student has just started in a master’s degree program and is expected to transition to the Ph.D. Some students of Loretta’s program have gone on to M.D., D.D.S., or nursing programs, and the rest have gone on to Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) programs or to research technology positions. In other words, every one of Loretta’s research students is now in a position where they directly benefit from what they gained while in her lab.”

Under the Oaks

In particular, Seaton studies singular spaces including orbifolds that are geometrical shapes (sphere, cube, cone) with folds formed from an entirely smooth surface and are suited for understanding patterns. An example is a cone that can be made by folding a smooth sheet of paper in on itself.

“The study of singular spaces brings together many areas of mathematics,” he says, “so it is a great pleasure to always be able to learn about new ideas and approaches. It is also a great area in which to find problems that can be tackled by students. I benefit immensely from having a fantastic group of collaborators, and I am always pleased to invite students to join this group.”

Seaton recruits students and teaches them the skills needed to perform computations for his research that he has presented nationally and internationally, including seminars in Brazil, Korea, Denmark, and China. His work also has been published in several top journals in mathematics, including Compositio Mathematica, Advances in Mathematics, and the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. In 2015, Seaton received Rhodes’ Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and/ or Creative Activity.

Nine of Seaton’s manuscripts have featured student co-authors. In addition, his students have made presentations at the annual Joint Mathematics Meeting, considered the world’s largest annual mathematics gathering. Lawton Walker ’21, who participated in its 2021 virtual meeting, says, “Working on research with Professor Seaton was an incredibly enjoyable experience that has helped prepare me for graduate school and my future career.”

“Chris has led numerous students to cutting-edge work on questions that are usually reserved for those in grad school or beyond,” says Dr. Eric Gottlieb, associate professor of mathematics.

“The articles that they have co-authored with him in scholarly journals are evidence that they are making real contributions to the discipline. Their work

9

Fulbright Global Scholar Awards

Master’s degree in urban education candidate Katherine Polster selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Award.

Katherine Polster, who is pursuing a master’s degree in urban education at Rhodes College, is the recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Award for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Professor Cara Djonko-Moore receives Fulbright Global Scholar Program Award to explore multicultural teacher education.

Dr. Cara Djonko-Moore, assistant professor of educational studies at Rhodes College, is the recipient of a Fulbright Global Scholar Program Award to Finland and Canada, granted by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright

10

She will serve as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan beginning in the fall.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for English teaching assistantships as well as for individually designed study/research projects. Recipients are chosen for their academic merit and intellectual potential.

“Being a Fulbright award recipient is a dream come true,” says Polster. “I love teaching and learning languages, and teaching abroad has been a dream that seemed out of reach. The Fulbright grants me the

opportunity to grow as an educator, to learn from and adapt to a new culture, and to achieve fluency in Chinese.”

Polster, from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, earned a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Studies with a minor in education from Rhodes in 2020. As an undergraduate, she was inducted into the international education honor society Kappa Delta Pi and the gender and sexuality studies honor society Iota Iota Iota. Polster also served as president of the Board Game Club and vice president of the Fencing Club.

“I thank Dr. Han Li for fostering my curiosity of Chinese and Asian studies,” says Polster. “Before I began Chinese studies, I attended her weekly Teatime. She made me an honorary Chinese studies student, as I became enthralled with the lan-

Foreign Scholarship Board. She will conduct research at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and at the University of Turku in Finland as part of a project to learn how teacher educators in international contexts address issues of diversity in their teacher education programs.

Djonko-Moore plans to use the award in Spring 2022 (Canada) and Fall 2022 (Finland). Her research interests at Rhodes include culturally responsive teaching within early childhood contexts and the retention of teachers in schools that serve culturally and linguistically diverse children and children in poverty.

At Cape Breton University, Djonko-Moore hopes to learn how its faculty prepare teachers to work with indigenous students and communities. The university is distinguished for its collegiate program focused on the academic study, research,

and teaching of the Mi’kmaq First Nation. Djonko-Moore also believes much can be learned from teacher educators at the University of Turku on how they prepare their candidates to be successful with all learners.

Finland’s education system has consistently ranked among the highest in the world since being reformed in the 1970s.

As a Fulbright Scholar, DjonkoMoore will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States, Canada, and Finland.

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through

guage and culture. She encouraged me to study abroad in Tianjin, China, where I had the opportunity to visit an English language classroom, and then I returned a year later to teach.

“I also thank Dr. Zachary Casey for encouraging me to pursue teaching abroad and for giving me the tools and foundation necessary to teach with critical pedagogy. I thank Dr. Alan Jaslow for helping me recognize my passion for teaching and for encouraging me to apply for the Fulbright.”

Upon completion of the Fulbright grant, Polster plans to teach English as a second language in Milwaukee, Memphis, or abroad, saying, “I hope to inspire students to be curious and find love in learning.”

an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

NASA to Launch Rhodes-Designed Satellite into Space

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch a Rhodes satellite into space between 2022 and 2025, the first time Rhodes has launched a spacecraft. Rhodes is among 14 small research satellite proposals and the only liberal arts college selected by NASA for the 2021 CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). Rhodes is in the company of large institutions with well-established aerospace and space science programs.

R ho de s’ Cub e S at (a sm a l l 10x10x10-centimeter satellite called R HOK-SAT ) — currently being designed and built by a collaboration of students, faculty, and staff — will fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket to reach its low earth orbit. RHOKSAT (RHodes-OKlahoma) is led by Professor of Physics Brent Hoffmeister, Associate Professor of Physics Ann Viano, Engineering Technologist and Program Manager Joe McPherson, and a group of students led by Giuliana Hofheins ’22, Ben Wilson ’22, and Eli Matlock ’21.

“RHOK-SAT has been an invaluable experience for me at Rhodes,” says Hof heins. “Working on a CubeSat project has combined my liberal arts background with a highly technical engineering project. Being a student leader on a team of all first-time CubeSat developers, I’ve been able to contribute to the project at a level most undergraduates would never have the chance to experience. RHOK-SAT and our work truly embodies NASA’s Strategic Plan and the original goal of CubeSat: to open up

space accessibility to small teams with big aspirations.”

Charles Robertson, Jr. ’65 encouraged Rhodes to develop a proposal and generously provided funding for the project. The project itself was conceived

by Rhodes students with a science investigation focus to test the space hardiness of novel photovoltaic devices, or solar cells, for lunar and planetary missions.

The technology is not new but has never been tested in space. The photovoltaic materials are under active development and investigation by the University of Oklahoma and will be provided by them for the satellite. RHOK-SAT will be in orbit for over one year and transmit data to the now fully operational Rhodes ground station.

Thanks to a women in physics-centered conference in January 2020, Dr. Ann Viano learned about the solar materials during a tour and helped develop the idea to test these solar cells, adding the University of Oklahoma as a collaborator. Thanks to relationships with Rhodes alumni, The Aerospace Corporation has also supplied support for the project.

“Rhodes’ CubeSat collaboration will allow students to be fully engaged, equal partners in a large-scale space science and engineering project,” says Viano. “Hands-on, experiential learning is absolutely essential in developing future leaders in science and technology because students must think critically when applying what they have learned in classes, and they must develop skills to use available resources, like the collective knowledge and perspective of their collaborators, to learn outside the classroom.

I am excited for our students engaged in this challenge and look forward to seeing them grow and develop skills used by professionals in not just aerospace engineering, but many other areas.”

The project also has a strong outreach component that will have Rhodes students bringing a curriculum called “Solar Cells and Gravity Wells” into Memphis high schools, designed to inspire the next generation of space scientists.

11

for a research project contributing to advances in robotics and creating appropriate policies governing collaborative robots’ deployment in various social situations and public spaces.

Sowell is a principal investigator on the project “Grounded Reasoning About Robot Capabilities for Law and Policy,” part of a larger NSF grant totaling $750,000 and involving faculty at Oregon State University and the University of North Texas.

Robots are being designed to work alongside and directly interact with humans, even understanding human gestures and expressions.

Examples include robots assembling Supporting innovative and packages and delivering meals. collaborative robotics and policy With collaborative robots research. entering public spaces, roboticists are now viewing their technologDr. Ross Sowell, assistant profes- ical designs through a law and sor of computer science at Rhodes policy lens to ensure safety and College, is the recipient of an protect privacy. For example, how $84,657 award funded by the is an end user’s privacy protected National Science Foundation (NSF) when interacting with a robot that

Professor Ross Sowell Receives National Science Foundation Award

Students Collaborate on National Science Foundation Research

12

is installed with a camera? Or, who is the responsible party if a robot malfunctions and causes a disruption to the environment in which it is placed?

“Imagine a robot that is helping an elderly person cross the street and an accident happens,” says Sowell. “How do we establish who is at fault? Is it the programmer? The robot manufacturer? The company that leases the robot?

The person who bought the robot?

Moreover, how could it be demonstrated that a good-faith effort was made to make the robot as safe as possible? And how would we recompense the victims in the case of an accident?”

Over a three-year period, Sowell will work with Ruth West, professor of design and new media at the University of North Texas; Dr. Cindy Grimm, professor of robotics at Oregon State; and Dr. Bill Smart, professor of mechanical engineering and robotics at Oregon State. The principal investigators

human-robot interaction. Each student has had work supported by a summer fellowship.

“People don’t really understand robots and think they can do much more than they are really capable of,” says Marisa Hudspeth ’22. “We’ve been creating apps Contributing to advancements in robotics. that people can use to learn about artificial intelligence.

One I’ve been working on explains how robots navigate a hallway or a maze.”

Osman Celikok ’22, a computer science major from Lakeland, Tennessee, also built an app to be used in the research. “My app visualizes the field-of-views of different cameras and animates the changes in a robot’s estimate of its location to get a more accurate position,” he says.

“People don’t realize that computers are not very smart. You have to do a lot of things to make them work,” says Shane Elder ’21.

Although robots have been designed to do simple repet- Elder, a computer science and math double major itive tasks in the home and workplace, more research from Medina, Tennessee, previously worked with needs to be done before robots can perform more dif- Sowell to design a robot playing a strategy board game. ficult autonomous tasks. That’s where Rhodes College Though Elder isn’t involved in the NSF research, he students come in, conducting research funded by the has been collaborating with Sowell and his colleagues National Science Foundation (NSF) with Dr. Ross at Oregon State University in their work for the Boeing Sowell, assistant professor of computer science, on Company. There, Elder programs computers to take

images of airplane parts and look for errors on an assembly line. He recently was accepted to a Ph.D. program at Carnegie Mellon University.

Hudspeth, a Memphis native with a double major in computer science and Greek and Roman studies, has been working with Sowell since her first year at Rhodes. Hudspeth’s work has led her to new research opportunities, such as her acceptance this summer to the highly selective Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, supported by the NSF. Celikok, who also joined the NSF research team after his first year, says the research opportunities are one of the best things about the computer science department. “Being able to benefit from Dr. Sowell’s knowledge and experience is the greatest resource Rhodes has given me for this research,” he says. — Madeleine Wright ’21

Construction Begins on New East Village C Residence Hall Rhodes College is building a new residence hall, East Village C, that will house 150 students in single rooms and suites. The three-floor, 61,717-square-foot building models the architecture of existing buildings and will provide student rooms, flexible work and study space, spacious common spaces, and a lodge designed for the college’s multicultural VOICES student organizations.

“East Village C truly supports bringing our Rhodes mission to life,” says Dr. Meghan Harte Weyant, vice president for student life. “Our design process has been centered on student needs and interests with the shared intention of enhancing the student life experience.”

The new building will provide space for students to take part in the transformative residential experience by being at the heart of the campus’ cultural life.

The focus on community building, both in the neighborhood-style rooms and the multicultural lounge, sets a model for Rhodes students of the future.

The building was designed by Jane Cady Rathbone P’13 of long-term Rhodes architects Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas and Company, who most recently received accolades for their design of Robertson Hall. The space was designed in response to student needs and requests with the input of student focus groups.

Residences are designed to foster community, providing private rooms as well as easy access to shared spaces among the small groups living together. Room plans include townhouses as well as four- and eight-person suites with single rooms with shared facilities, including lounge space.

Connected to the residential space is the multicultural lodge designed for the needs of the VOICES student groups. “I think that it is extremely important to create a permanent and welcoming space, as will be in EV-C, in order to affirm Rhodes’ commitment to its students of color,” says Lauren Yenari ’22, president of All Students Interested in Asia. “I have enjoyed spending the past few months working with Dr. Harte Weyant and other members of the Rhodes administration in planning and crafting a space that will meet both students’ and organizations’ needs.”

Construction of EV-C began in early May 2021 and is scheduled be completed in July 2022. Student organizations who consulted on this project include: Rhodes Student Government, Black Student Association, All Students Interested in Asia, African Student Association, Latinx Student Association, South Asian Culture and Advocacy, Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Men of Distinction, Women of Determination, and AWSOME.

Under the Oaks

will further collaborate with legal experts including Woodrow Hartzog, professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University; Ryan Calo, professor of law at the University of Washington; and Jennifer Wondracek, director of legal educational technology at the University of North Texas at Dallas.

Three Rhodes students — Marisa Hudspeth ’22, Osman Celikok ’22, and Waldo Abu Al-Afia ’23 — also will contribute to the research project.

The team aims to develop a structured language paradigm and interactive tools to show how robots and autonomous systems work at a non-technical level and to construct a set of case studies for specific robot use.

“We need to have these conversations now before these new technologies are widely deployed and damage is already done,” says Sowell. “These issues must be addressed if we are to avoid a backlash against the technologies and see ubiquitous co-robots doing useful work in the real world.”

13

President Hass Departs Rhodes

After four transformative years in Memphis, Dr. Marjorie Hass will become president of a Washington-based association of colleges and universities.

By Anna Traverse Fogle

Four years ago, Dr. Marjorie Hass moved to Memphis from Sherman, Texas, to become the twentieth president of Rhodes College. She arrived during a period of personal turmoil — Hass was finishing treatment for breast cancer — but she was ready to answer the call to lead. Rhodes’ first woman president, her tenure was to be characterized by her calm, steady ability to see opportunity in moments of crisis. She announced at the beginning of March that she will depart Rhodes this summer to become president of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), a Washington-based association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities.

About the new opportunity, Hass remarked, “This is a moment to engage more fully in the national dialogue about higher education, particularly independent higher education. I have devoted my career to that on three different campuses. It is, to my mind, such an important aspect of the

14

American higher education system.

And it is facing many challenges, as you know. Rhodes is very fortunate to have navigated some of these more difficult waters so well in the last few years. This is a moment where we need bold leadership that’s grounded in what’s best for our students, grounded in what we know — the kind of transformational experience that happens on our campuses — and then translating that into policy, into leadership development, into funding opportunities for institutions.”

Hass, a philosopher by training and temperament, has led Rhodes since 2017. Prior to her appointment at Rhodes, she was president of Austin College, in Sherman, Texas, and before that, she spent more than 16 years as a member of the faculty and administration at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

During her Rhodes tenure — whose four-year length neatly matches that

of the college’s standard course from matriculation to graduation — she has underseen an era of bold change. Hass has led the 173-year-old institution through a strategic-planning process, which is ongoing. Among her major priorities during her years at the college has been advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the Rhodes community. The college established the Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center under Hass’ leadership, and through it has expanded community engagement opportunities for students. According to the college’s data, applications have increased by more than 20 percent over the past four years.

Over the course of the past year, Hass has guided Rhodes through the COVID-19 pandemic, including an early move to virtual learning last March. This January, the campus reopened to residential students, with aggressive testing and contact-tracing

protocols in place. Only a few weeks after students moved back to campus, the Midtown college scrambled to relocate them to suburban hotels when dormitories became uninhabitable following February’s winter weather and associated water issues. Keeping a sense of humor about it all, she said, “Historically, let’s hope I will be the only president ever to have to evacuate the campus twice in one year — we don’t want anyone to break that record!”

Hass, along with her husband, Dr. Lawrence Hass, has developed a deep affinity for Rhodes and for the city of Memphis. She was not looking for a new chapter when the CIC approached her; indeed, she says, “I knew in coming to Rhodes that I would not be leaving Rhodes to go to another college. There’s no college I would want to be president of more than I would want to be president of Rhodes College.”

15

16

It’s clear that the campus community has felt the authenticity of Hass’ commitment. Jacob Fontaine ’21, former student government president, reflected on his experience working with President Hass: “Despite the past year being one of the most difficult in the college’s history, she served as a symbol of strength and stability for our community throughout the pandemic. She is admired as an innovator by students and faculty alike, and even taught a class on creative leadership this semester. President Hass leads by example, and despite having a full calendar, still took the time daily to talk to students as she passed them in the quad.”

Aubrey Howard ’72, president of the Black Alumni Chapter, says, “After Marjorie was named president of Rhodes, my now ‘transitioned’ wife of 48 years, Rhodes alum, Patricia C. ‘Tricia’ Howard ’70, suggested I reach out to Marjorie. Having experienced racism and sexism as Rhodes students, we both realized the first female and Jewish president would be challenged on both counts.

Marjorie has done a superb job of not giving lip service to inclusion but making it happen on the campus. Nevertheless, my personal connection to Marjorie is beyond the campus. In Marjorie I see Tricia’s vision of a woman ‘strong, smart, and bold,’ committed to doing whatever is in her power to cause this challenging world to rid itself of all unkindness.”

Faculty members also expressed their gratitude for Hass’ leadership. “As a member of the Faculty Governance Committee, I have been so appreciative of President Hass’ commitment to shared governance,” says Dr. Elizabeth Thomas, professor of psychology and the Plough Chair of Urban Studies. “She met with our committee regularly and approached us as true partners and allies. Her regular presentations to faculty were clear and provided critical information about the college. She has valued transparency and demonstrated a willingness to work closely with faculty, and I am grateful for her leadership,”

Meanwhile, alumna Elizabeth Pearce ’91, who serves on the college’s Board of Trustees, says, “I connected with Marjorie from the moment I met her; she is that kind of person. What she has accomplished at Rhodes in the four years she has been our president has been nothing short of miraculous. She has continually worked to move the college forward in the most important ways, during some of the most challenging times, and did so with great intelligence, candor, balance, humility, and humor. We all have been blessed to have Marjorie in our lives and are very proud as she moves to Washington to be the voice of all Independent

Colleges and Universities.”

The average tenure of a college president is five years. After four years at Rhodes, it may feel as though Hass just got started. But in her humble perspective, all leaders are temporary; every leader is paving the way for a future she may not witness.

“From day one,” she says, “you have to be thinking not just about what is best for today, but about how this is shaping the future of the institution. You’re always trying to make the institution bigger and better than you — more than you. Rhodes belongs to everyone and no one.

Everything I’ve tried to do at Rhodes, from the day I arrived, has really been with that in mind: What is it that sets Rhodes on a trajectory to longer-term success?” Through her efforts over the past four years — with the Rhodes EDGE; with the Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center; in her work to improve the college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion; in hiring talented people to enhance Rhodes’ impact — Hass certainly has set Rhodes on a trajectory to long-term success.

When she and the other Dr. Hass relocate to the nation’s capital this summer, she will remain part of the campus community, especially because Rhodes is active in the Council of Independent Colleges.

She describes the transition as “an expansion, not a separation.”

Understandably, Hass is looking forward to one aspect of the move in particular. “The most exciting thing about it,” she says, is the fact that she will be able to hop on a train in D.C. and quickly travel up to Philadelphia, where her son lives. “Bringing our family back together — especially after this difficult year — feels really pleasing.”

Her leadership style consistently has included her whole self. She arrived on campus as a woman dealing with a health concern, as a person whose vulnerabilities were part of her strength. Hass has described herself as someone who shows up to lead as “a Jewish woman, as a mother, as a wife, as somebody with spiritual beliefs, as someone who believes in building community.”

She goes on to say that she “has been very fortunate to be at institutions — Rhodes absolutely among them — that embrace who I am as a whole person.” Just as she brought her whole self to campus when she began her time as Rhodes College president, Dr. Marjorie Hass departs as a fully realized woman, leader, academic, wife, mother, connector, philosopher, inspirer. In turn, this spirit leaves the college a more fully realized version of itself.

President Hass Departs Rhodes

17

Search for the Twenty-First President

Dr. Cary Fowler ’71, P’19

18

Aspiring to build further upon its current momentum, Rhodes seeks a strategic, transparent, and inclusive leader to serve as its next president. The search for the twenty-first president began in March 2021. Board Chair Cary Fowler and Trustee Greg Peters ’82, P’19 will co-chair the search committee.

Dr. Fowler shares this message with the community:

Dear Rhodes Community, We are engaged in an important time of transition as we thank President Marjorie Hass for her remarkable service and begin the search to find the twenty-first president of Rhodes College. I’m writing to announce the formal launch of the search process and outline the multiple ways in which the community can give input into the process.

Beginning the Search Process While the hiring of the president is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Trustees, we cannot do our job well without fully understanding the needs, priorities, and aspirations of the entire Rhodes community.

Therefore, we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to share your input so it may be incorporated into the Search Committee’s understanding and into the position profile as it is developed in the coming weeks.

We have named a search committee composed of a cross section of our community. The committee members include trustees, faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and Memphians.

We have also launched a presidential search website (www.rhodes.edu/ about-rhodes/search-21st-presidentrhodes-college), where updates will be posted regularly.

We have hired consultants from Storbeck Search to assist us in this transition. Sue May, Shelly Storbeck, Matt Marsallo, and Alyssa Perez of Storbeck Search will work closely with us to generate an excellent, diverse pool of candidates. In March, our search consultants conducted a remote listening session, which provided the campus community the opportunity to share their thoughts directly with our search consultants. The co-chairs of the search committee joined some sessions as well in order to hear your input directly. Nominations for potential candidates can be emailed directly to our search consultants.

Announcing an Interim President A thorough and thoughtful presidential search takes time. The Board of Trustees determined they needed to appoint an interim president, Dr. Carroll Stevens, to take office this summer after President Hass’ departure. The interim president will not be a candidate for the permanent role and will serve only until Rhodes’ twenty-first president is formally named.

The Board of Trustees recognizes that we have no more important responsibility than to choose a president under whose leadership all members of the Rhodes community will thrive and be able to carry out its highest mission. Thank you, in advance, for your thoughts and support as we work to find our next president.

Cary Fowler ’71, P’19 Chair, Rhodes College Board of Trustees

Presidential Search Committee Dr. Cary Fowler ’71, P’19 along with 12 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and prominent Memphians will serve on the committee to recruit the next president of Rhodes College. He and Greg Peters ’82, P’19 will co-chair the committee.

The members of the presidential search committee are: • Dr. Cary Fowler ’71, P’19 — chair of the Rhodes College Board of Trustees; co-chair of the Rhodes Presidential Search Committee; former executive director, Global Crop Diversity Trust; former professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

• Mr. Greg Peters ’82, P’19 — vicechair of the Rhodes College Board of Trustees; co-chair of the Rhodes Presidential Search Committee; president & CEO, Zilliant Inc. • Ms. Deborah Craddock ’80 — Rhodes Trustee; principal, Southeastern Asset Management Inc.

• Ms. Meg Crosby — secretary of the Rhodes Board of Trustees; principal, PeopleCap Advisors; operating partner, SSM Partners.

• Mr. Dan Hatzenbuehler ’71 — Rhodes Trustee; attorney, retired chairman & CEO, E. Ritter & Co. • Mr. Chick Hill — Rhodes Trustee.

• Mr. Johnny Moore ’88 — Rhodes Trustee, Mid-West Tennessee regional president, Truist Financial Corporation.

• Mr. Bill Rhodes P’18 — former Rhodes Trustee; chairman, president & CEO, AutoZone Inc.

• Dr. Bob Waller — former Rhodes Trustee; retired president & CEO, Mayo Clinic.

• Dr. Loretta Jackson-Hayes — former Rhodes Faculty Trustee; professor of chemistry and the James H. Daughdrill Professor in Natural Sciences; chair, Rhodes Chemistry Department.

• Dr. Leslie Petty — associate professor of English; chair, Rhodes English Department.

• Dr. Sherry Turner ’84 — vice president of strategic initiatives and chief diversity officer, Rhodes College.

• Jacob Fontaine ’21 — Student Trustee, 2020-21 Rhodes Student Government president.

19

Carroll D. Stevens, J.D. to Serve as Interim President of Rhodes College

20

The Rhodes College Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Carroll Stevens, J.D., as interim president of the college. He will begin serving this summer when President Marjorie Hass departs Rhodes.

“Carroll will add depth, breadth, and a generous, positive, and creative spirit to our leadership team at Rhodes,” says Cary Fowler ’71, P’19, board chair. “As we carry out the search to replace President Hass, who is becoming head of the Council of Independent Colleges in Washington, D.C., I know the college is in good hands and will continue to move forward with Carroll and our great staff and faculty.”

Stevens, a member of the Rhodes College Board of Trustees, recently served as vice president for advancement at Claremont McKenna College, one the nation’s foremost liberal arts colleges.

From 1987 to 2005 he was associate dean of the Yale University School of Law, and prior to that associate dean of the College of Law at the University of Kentucky.

He has served as an executive with the Stupski Foundation, whose multi-year commitment to K-12 public education extended to 23 communities across the country, among them Clarksville, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi. Since 2013 he has served as president of the company foundation of Ardeo Education Solutions, a Public Benefit corporation which provides loan repayment assistance to students at more than 200 U.S. colleges.

“I’m honored that the Board of Trustees has asked me to step in to lead Rhodes during this important interim period. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students to continue to implement the college’s strategic initiatives and help recruit the college’s twenty-first president,” Stevens says.

“Carroll’s commitment to Rhodes as a trustee has been exemplary. I’m grateful for his willingness to take on these new responsibilities. I look forward to working with Carroll to ensure a smooth transition for the college,” says President Marjorie Hass.

Dean Stevens, as he is still known to many of his former students, holds a B.A. degree from Georgetown College and a J.D. degree from the University of Kentucky. In 2006 Georgetown awarded him the degree Doctor of Laws honoris causa. He is an Honorary Fellow at Regent’s Park College of Oxford University, a status conferred for his long service on the College’s Governing Body.

Stevens has distinguished himself as one of the country’s top innovative leaders in education.

He has held leadership and advisory roles in education companies and nonprofits in the realms of technology, management consulting, and college affordability and access, focusing especially on children in poverty and children of color. He was the founding chairman of Achievement First, one of the nation’s largest and finest public independent school systems, which operates more than 40 charter schools in New York City; Providence, Rhode Island; and three Connecticut cities.

Carroll and his wife, Libby, a clinical laboratory scientist with specialties in reproductive endocrinology (Yale School of Medicine) and hematology-oncology (University of Kentucky College of Medicine) will reside in the President’s home on Morningside Place.

Stevens assumed his duties July 1, 2021, and will serve until replaced by the incoming president of the college. Stevens will not be a candidate for the permanent role.

21

Back to Campus

Thorough planning from Rhodes College and its healthcare partners saw students return to campus for the Spring 2021 semester.

22

By Samuel X. Cicci ’15 On Saturday, May 15, Class of 2021 graduates tossed their caps into the air at the Liberty Bowl, celebrating an end to their time at Rhodes College.

Later that day, members of the Class of 2020 returned to Memphis to mark a postponed recognition of their own achievements. All that jubilation, success, and achievement seemed a long way off last year, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing schools to close or postpone all public events and make everything, including graduation, a virtual affair.

Rhodes, who was first in Memphis to move to remote learning, continued on the path of thinking ahead and incorporating the best, most current public health advice.

When Rhodes saw a chance to once again offer its unique on-campus experience, college leaders knew they had to do everything in their power to give students that opportunity.

While it may not have been business as usual, a collective effort from

the administration, faculty and staff, student body, and community partners meant that Rhodes could safely reopen its campus.

Kicking off that process of reintegrating students, faculty, and staff wasn’t an easy one. There were plenty of safety and logistical concerns to consider, none of them with easy solutions.

“Early on in our conversations, one of the things still in my mind was just how uncertain we were on so many things,” says Dr. Meghan Harte Weyant, vice president for student life at Rhodes. “Throughout COVID, guidelines continued to change, as new data and research continued to come in. When we sat down as a team, what came out of our collective thinking very early on is that we wanted to lay out a core set of values, based on our institutional values and in appreciation of science. And that steered everything that we did.”

Luckily, Rhodes had an established relationship with infectious disease expert Dr. Stephen

Threlkeld ’86, a Rhodes alumnus and one of the faces of Memphis’ fight against COVID-19. The school’s partnership with Baptist Memorial Healthcare provided a platform to carefully analyze the data and set up all the necessary precautions to welcome students safely back to campus. While evidence convinced the school to remain closed for the Fall 2020 semester, it also offered a glimmer of hope for spring. Even so, many aspects of campus life, from move-in day to the dining hall, would have to be reimagined and restructured for a pandemic world.

“We talked with a lot of other schools who had already returned to campus,” says Weyant. “How they planned, how they did social distancing, what worked and what didn’t. Some came up with algorithms to figure out who moved in and when.” To expedite the process, Rhodes organized a health and safety operations team that ensured movein went as smoothly as possible. That involved screening potential entry

23

I’m incredibly grateful for all of our staff, in units all across the college, who have been willing to think in creative and communitybased ways to develop events and activities that allowed our students to both feel safe and celebrate their time here.

— Dr. Meghan Harte Weyant Dr. Meghan Harte Weyant

24

points for new arrivals and testing students before they stepped foot into a residence hall.

While the staff worked to ensure the safety of its students, Rhodes also strove to produce an atmosphere that felt welcoming. “We didn’t want it to feel cold and sterile,” says Weyant. “With a focus on both new students and seniors who missed their penultimate semester, our team spent hundreds of hours mapping out plans and communications, and sharing those with students and families.”

When the gates at last opened in January to welcome back faculty, administrators, and more than 700 residential students for the Spring 2021 semester, returning members of the Rhodes community gleefully embraced a feeling that hewed much closer to the quintessential campus experience.

“It was so exciting to be back,” says Priya Tummalapalli ’22, a rising senior and international studies major. “We’d kept in touch with friends and teachers in the fall, but it just wasn’t the same as being there in person. It made a huge difference getting to see old friends or meet with professors, whether that was concerning classwork or just to chat during office hours.”

Getting students back was important, but going about that process involved some flexibility. Rhodes had initially come up with a plan to space freshmen

and graduating seniors evenly around the dormitories, with students living individually in traditionalstyle dorms, and a similar setup in the residential apartment and suite buildings.

Feedback from parents and students, in addition to changing COVID-19 data, prompted some quick alterations. “We really heard from a ton of students, saying, ‘We want to live on campus,’” recalls Weyant. “Sophomore and juniors too — everyone was saying, ‘We want this, we know the risks.’ So we went through and redrafted our plan.

It took a lot to make this work, but it would never have happened without the nimble nature and flexibility of our staff.”

While it would have been easy to handle the planning internally, Rhodes wanted to make sure that student voices were heard during all phases of the process. To that end, the school put together a student committee to be part of the health and safety board. Tummalapalli was selected to serve on that committee and felt that students had a voice at every table.

“All of us were part of every meeting, throughout the summer, leading into the fall, and then into the spring,” she says. “I have to hand it to Dr. Weyant: She’s very student-focused, and she made sure that student voices were applied in every section of the work they were doing.”

Back to Campus

25

Priya Tummalapalli ’22

26

To maintain a clean bill of health, Rhodes transformed the Bryan Campus Life Center into an on-campus testing center run by staff. Every Monday through Friday during the spring semester, the testing center would be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide the required two COVID tests a week for residential students and student athletes (once a week for non-residential students).

The partnership with Baptist allowed nurses to be on-site at all times to perform testing, or operate additional booths and tents in the gym. Beyond medical duties, having professionals on hand helped with the logistics of the whole operation.

“They created labels, made sure everything was in order, and efficiently got samples over to the lab for 24-hour results in case we had a positive result.

All this while processing, on average, 700 tests a day,” says Weyant.

When a student did have a positive result, they were directed to a separate testing operation located in Glassell Hall, which had been set aside as the isolation building. The school hired extra nurses for the medical center, who helped out with the symptomatic testing center.

“If you were symptomatic,” Weyant continues, “no matter what the test result was, you would go into quarantine for three days. That protocol was from Baptist, so it would help make sure we really worked at finding true positives, and not share germs and see more spikes.” Students with

a positive test moved into Glassell for several days, but had their own section of student life staff available to help with their care and support.

That could mean anything from retrieving a lost toothbrush, to making sure the quarantined students had meals.

“They had round-the-clock care,” says Weyant.

“The student life and athletics staff were on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week since January to help tackle both health concerns, and with the mental health side of the pandemic. It’s been an incredible lift on behalf of this team.”

To cut down on large gatherings, seating in the dining halls was limited. Instead, students could pick up food and take it to-go, either back to their dorms, or to one of the many outdoor tables and tents on campus. The school turned the BCLC’s McCallum Ballroom into a large, socially distanced space where students could relax.

Weyant encouraged students to find a meal pod. “That’s maybe three or four people who you’ll always be eating with,” she explains. “If you have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with three different people every day, that creates a contact tracing scenario, whereas with the same group, the number is much more manageable. Our students were very willing to follow all of the protocols we put in place, and that contributed to the very low positivity rate [less than 2 percent] we saw on campus.”

We’d kept in touch with friends and teachers in the fall, but it wasn’t the same as being there in person.

It made a huge difference getting to see old friends or meet with professors.

— Priya Tummalapalli ’22

in the level of expectations,” says Tummalapalli. “And I want to give a shout-out to our staff and faculty for having high expectations, and maintaining high expectations.

There was never a time where I felt cheated because of COVID-19. I still received a very high-caliber classroom experience, and I’m proud of that. It’s something I’d tell my parents: ‘College is still hard!’ It was still a challenging experience, as Rhodes maintained those high expectations.”

In terms of extracurricular events, Rhodes cultivated a safe environment while providing on-campus activities both old and new. The annual Rites of Spring Carnival and Concert returned after being postponed in 2020, along with a Black History Month convocation, ASIA Fest, laser tag excursions, and Food Truck Fridays.

The Class of 2021’s senior week was even able to engage in some offcampus adventures, including nights spent at Railgarten and Loflin Yard, a food truck lunch with President Marjorie Hass, a concert at Shelby Farms, and even a Grizzlies game.

For athletics, the health and safety protocols in place paid dividends with the school hosting 62 games and matches in various sports, three track meets with eight teams each, two SAA championship events, and four games as part of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Pod.

According to Matt Dean, director of athletics this spring, the school did

not miss any games due to COVID-19.

At the start, guests weren’t allowed into games, and athletes would be masked and spaced six feet apart on their respective benches. When case numbers started declining, the school allowed some students and faculty to spectate. And as the semester neared its conclusion, parents who preregistered with the school 48 hours ahead of time were able to attend outdoor sporting events.

Meticulously plotted healthcare protocols, buy-in from students and faculty, and a continued level of academic excellence all paved a smooth road for the 2020-2021 Commencement at the Liberty Bowl.

And as students celebrated their graduation, it was only possible due to a collective effort from all parties to ensure a safe and successful campus environment.

“I’m just incredibly grateful for all of our staff,” says Weyant, “in units all across the college, who have been willing to think in creative and community-based ways to develop events and activities that allowed our students to both feel safe and celebrate their time here.”

“Rhodes College is very resilient,” agrees Tummalapalli. “It’s full of staff and faculty who are so focused on returning to what makes Rhodes special. I’m hopeful that all the students going forward will get the best experience.”

Back to Campus

The crux of the experience would always involve academics. When preparing the classrooms, staff members would measure out sixfoot gaps to clearly indicate where it was safe for students to sit. Dots would be marked on each spot, with chairs set over them for seating assignments. Due to the small size of most classrooms, this meant about half of the classes needed to be remote.

Larger halls and auditoriums were commandeered as classroom space to provide more options, and masks were required for every in-person scenario.

As for faculty, they used the experience of teaching remotely back in the fall to inform a more split strategy this time around. “When cases surged, some students had to quarantine in place. If they couldn’t make it to the classroom, that presented a problem for the professors,” says Weyant. “Did they teach that student separately? Did they pull double-duty and teach a class both inperson and remotely at the same time?

Whatever it took, they did it. They were incredibly nimble, flexible, caring, and supportive. Basically, they were awesome.”

Even considering all the challenges that came with hosting a class during a pandemic, Rhodes College’s standard of academic excellence had to remain steadfast.

And from a student perspective, there was no discernable drop-off.

“The value of your degree is

27

Leaders in Medicine Rhodes alumni hold high positions in the world of healthcare.

28

Dr. Pat Flynn Photograph courtesy St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

at least well-versed enough to hold intelligent conversations with them As any student at Rhodes College about topics and careers outside of will tell you, a liberal arts education science.” is an interdisciplinary approach to

Similarly, Dr. Pat Flynn ’77, learning — one that recognizes the senior vice president and medical equal value and necessity of every director of quality and patient care at field of study, ranging from the arts St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, to the humanities to the sciences. It’s says that her liberal arts education this type of education that appeals “really opened my eyes to realize that to prospective students who desire to there’s a big world out there, that it’s become well-rounded individuals in not all about a lab.” She continues, “I whatever career they may pursue after was a real science geek, and had I not graduation. wound up in a liberal arts school —

For about 35-40 percent of the which I’m not even sure I knew what Rhodes population, that desired career that was when I first came to Rhodes path is within the health professions.

— I probably would’ve gone through To produce thoughtful medical my four years of college taking professionals, students are encouraged nothing but biology, math, chemistry, to find the academic path that and physics classes.” interests them the most. Rather than

Dr. Sally Goza ’80, immediate offer a narrow pre-med or pre-health past president of the American major, students apply the lessons Academy of Pediatrics and a practicing of interdisciplinary studies to their pediatrician in Fayetteville, Georgia, suggested sciences curriculum and points to the courses in what is now are guided by the advice of Rhodes’ known as the “Search” program, as robust Health Professions Advising being foundational to her experience (HPA) team. “The beauty of a liberal as a student at Rhodes and beyond. arts education is that students can “[Those] courses made you stop and pursue what they want to,” says Jessica think; it taught you how to look at Kelso, director of Health Professions things from different perspectives,” Advising. “You would be hard-pressed she says. “And that is one of the things to name a major where we haven’t that helped me out the most, because been able to send someone to a health you can get so fixated on a certain professional school. [Students may] path of life, but it made you think big, know they’re going into the health about a lot of different things and in profession, but they’re going to a different ways about things.” liberal arts institution, so they have these opportunities to branch out in a diverse set of courses, which in turn is better for their career in the future.”

This type of rigorous academic

Dr. Ryan Mire ’93, P’23, background, in turn, sets Rhodes president-elect of the American students apart as competitive College of Physicians and a practicing applicants for health professional internist in Nashville, appreciates his schools and as successful individuals liberal arts education for exposing working within the medical field. him to courses and subjects outside “Rhodes’ focus in their academic of his biology major. “The liberal arts curriculum is stressing analytical curriculum makes you more versatile and critical thinking skills,” Mire and allows you to experience other says. “As a physician in the field of things outside of what your major is,” internal medicine, that has served me he says, “and I think that has allowed quite well because diagnosing patients me, in my clinical practice, to be able requires a lot of analytical and critical to relate more to my patients and be thinking to come up with the right

By Abigail Morici ’21

diagnosis. Rhodes gave me a good preparation and a foundation on how to problem-solve.”

Of course, this education would not be possible without the professors. “All the professors really cared about students, and I think that’s still true today,” Goza says. “If you’re struggling in a class or having a problem with something, you can go to your professors, and they’re really willing to help. For years, when I would come back, the professors would recognize me. It gave you the sense that you mattered.”

“The personal attention that I got is unique to Rhodes,” adds Flynn, who was one of only three chemistry majors at the time. “Dr. David Jeter taught Chemistry 101 my first semester of college, and that was the hardest class I had taken. I spent the entire semester thinking that I was going to flunk out. I worked really hard, and he was very helpful and instrumental in helping the entire class move along in something I considered a difficult topic. I maintained a relationship with him a long time after graduation.”

Perhaps, equally important, is the Rhodes experience outside of the classroom. “Rhodes students are involved and engaged across the campus and in the community,” Kelso says. “I don’t know if I have any student who isn’t involved in at least one organization. We stress the importance of leadership, to figure out where you are passionate, and see if that provides you the opportunity for a leadership role.”

Mire attributes his time spent in extracurriculars as being foundational to his leadership skills within the medical community. During his time at Rhodes, Mire served as vice president of the Black Student Association (BSA) and was a member of the football team. He says that the campus organizations, like the BSA, which give voice to diversity and inclusion, “provided a foundation of cultural humility — being open

29

Rhodes gave me a good preparation and a foundation on how to problemsolve.

— Dr. Ryan Mire ’93, P’23

Dr. Ryan Mire ’93, P’23

to different cultures, which in medicine you have the opportunity to experience people with different backgrounds.”

He goes on to say that due to this exposure to different cultural experiences and having to work with others, “Rhodes gave me a great foundation in being open and respecting other points of view, and as a physician my goal is to give advice to benefit the health of a patient. But at the same time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the patient will agree with my advice — they may have their own personal religious views that may go against my advice. [But Rhodes] has allowed me to be open-minded and to try to understand the why of a patient, who is not agreeing with a medical or clinical recommendation, and to dig a little bit deeper in respecting their opinion.”

As in football, he says, “You can’t choose your teammates. When you show up you are part of a team and no matter what the background of

30

your teammate you have to learn to work together with someone you don’t know, and it provides an opportunity of being open to differences of opinion and thought.” This ability to collaborate in a position of leadership has continued beyond Mire’s experience at Rhodes, now that he is the president-elect of the American College of Physicians, the largest specialty organization in the United States. Mire is also a Rhodes College trustee and serves on the executive committee for the University of Tennessee College of Medicine alumni board.

Like Mire, Goza credits the Rhodes community for her collaborative leadership skills. While at Rhodes, Goza was a member of Chi Omega and served on the Panhellenic Council. She also tutored children through the Kinney Program and volunteered at one

Leaders in Medicine

of the children’s hospitals in Memphis.

Of these experiences, she says, “The sense of being able to meet people different from you, and work together with your patients, not just your colleagues, I learned that from Rhodes.

You don’t always have to know the answer; you have to collaborate to find an answer. Sometimes, if you listen long enough, you change what you think. It’s just that give-and-take of dialogue.”

She continues, “In the whole community at Rhodes, there weren’t factions; we were a community, the friendships were for everybody, and they lasted. Rhodes set me on a good road to get into medical school and my career, working with children and also

realizing that I wanted a bigger voice.”

In fact, Goza served as president of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2020 and had to navigate all the complications that arose at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Problemsolving was key in the pandemic,” she says. “But it was the leadership I learned at Rhodes — the building of a community and thinking outside the box, thinking for myself, that got me there.”

Flynn adds, “Rhodes helped foster this ability for dialogue,” which is necessary in her leadership roles as a deputy clinical director, holder of the Arthur Ashe Chair in pediatric AIDS research, and the senior vice president and medical director of quality and

patient care at St. Jude. This year, especially, has presented challenges, but as she learned at Rhodes, her leadership “has always been and continues to be a team approach.”

Flynn was a resident advisor for two years while at Rhodes. “It was an introduction for me into leadership and mentorship,” she says.

She also volunteered with Meals on Wheels, worked in the chemistry department in the summers following her sophomore and junior years, and helped establish the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society at Rhodes. Overall, the campus culture motivated and inspired her to lead not only in the broader sense of leadership, but also to lead by action and by

31

example. She says, “The emphasis that was placed on the Honor Code and the individual responsibility of your actions — that was something that appealed to me before I got there and was sort of how you set up your standards for moving forward in your life.”

These standards, Flynn says, have been instrumental in her career as a physician and as a leader, and it’s these same standards that have allowed Rhodes as an institution to continue to develop new relationships throughout Memphis for pre-health opportunities. “The Memphis community really has welcomed and embraced our students,” Kelso says. “Semester after semester, we are able to send students out to some of these same sites [for internships and externships], and they know what they’re getting with Rhodes students.”

32

During his junior year, Mire had a semester-long externship at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, where

he shadowed a resident physician. “The externship was very critical for me to gain some exposure and insight to see if this is what I wanted to do and to make sure I was truly on the right path of my passion,” he says. “Rhodes gave me an opportunity to get out of the gates, so to speak, and to get some real-life clinical experience, which was really valuable to me.”

Now, in addition to internships and externships, Rhodes offers summer programs for those interested in the medical field, including the Le Bonheur Summer Plus Fellowship, the Baptist Summer Fellowship, and the Medical Health Humanities Institute. “The medical district here is very large and growing and provides our students with a lot of opportunities,” Kelso says.

Today, HPA consists of three full-time staff members, who help pre-health students year-round, from the time they are prospective students through graduation and beyond as alumni. “We devote all our time and energy to helping students prepare for

Our success at producing leaders in the medical field is a true testament to our well-rounded liberal arts education and the exceptional quality of our faculty, staff, and students.

— Dr. Katherine Bassard, Rhodes College provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Leaders in Medicine

the health professions,” Kelso says. The staff continues to find professional and leadership opportunities for students, to guide students as they structure their four-year plan of courses, and to assist students in the application process for health professional schools.

“There’s not a ‘best’ route,” Kelso says. “The best route is what each individual student is excited about.” And this kind of passion and flexibility, fostered while at Rhodes, allows alumni to become successful physicians and leaders in medicine.

“There are lots of different pathways to take in medicine,” Flynn says, “and they allow you to change and grow in the field.”

But Flynn, Goza, and Mire alike insist that without their experiences on campus and in the Memphis community, they never could have gained the insights from their peers, alumni, and faculty that have molded their values and skills as physicians and leaders. “It’s hard work, but the rewards are worth the hard work,” Flynn continues.

“I’ve never looked back and said, ‘I wish I hadn’t done that.’”

“Our success at producing leaders in the medical field is a true testament to our wellrounded liberal arts education and the exceptional quality of our faculty, staff, and students,” says Dr. Katherine Bassard, Rhodes College provost and vice president for academic affairs. “In addition to the resources and advice our Health Professions Advising team offers, our graduates come away with a broad education in the arts and sciences that hones their critical thinking skills, and their personal values. That sets them apart as both leaders and practitioners.”

33

Commencement 2020

Traditionally, Rhodes holds its commencement on campus. In 2020, COVID-19 forced the college to hold a virtual ceremony. This year, following strict social-distancing protocols, Rhodes held two commencement events, honoring the graduates of 2020 in the morning and 2021 in the evening of May 15 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

34

2020 LEGACY PHOTO

Front Row (left to right): Robert Swords ’90, Annelise Swords ’21, Michael Thompson ’00, Carly Thompson ’20, Regina Franklin Thompson ’00, Grace Lovett ’21. (Grace is wearing the favorite Grateful Dead hat of her brother, Lane Lovett ’09, who died on March 29, 2021.)

Back Row (left to right): Noah Rinehart ’18, Jeremiah Rinehart ’20, Jonathan “JD” Deming ’20. Lauren Wellford Deming ’87.

35

Commencement 2021

36

2021 LEGACY PHOTO Front Row (left to right): Katiebeth Chapman ’17, Natalie Manoogian ’21, Anna Manoogian ’18, Timothy Dawson Lee ’21, Leslie Nelson Lee ’86, Caroline Koch ’21, Lynn Stapleton Koch ’83, Ellen Baker Jurewicz ’94, Olivia Collins ’21, Richard Baker ’65, R. Dudley Baker ’99.

Middle Row (left to right): Tony Hanna ’16, Jill Fredenburg ’17, Tara Fredenburg ’21, John Chrestman ’20, Lindsey Chrestman ’01, Timothy Nolan Brahm ’21, Stewart Crais ’94, Lillian Brimberry ’21, Laura Keever Brimberry ’89, Ashby Glover ’21, Trice Gibbons ’83.

Back Row (left to right): Olivia Waterton ’21, Lauren Anderson Waterton ’91, Kaleigh Donnelly ’92, Lindsay Camille Donnelly-Bullington ’21, Rich Bullington ’91, Darcy Boardman ’21, Dale Boardman ’19, Jonathan “JD” Deming ’20, Lauren Wellford Deming ’87, Courtney Edington ’21, Sherard Edington ’85

37

Class Notes

Christy Weir Krueger ’85, Rossville, TN Rhodes College Alumni Association President

To update your contact information, learn more about ways you can connect with the college and your classmates, or to volunteer to serve as your Class Reporter, visit us online at rhodes.edu/alumni or e-mail Alumni Relations at alumni@rhodes.edu.

1956

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’56 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

1957

REPORTER Mary Frances Files Silitch silitch@gmail.com Eric Mount and his wife, Truly ’58, have migrated from Danville, KY, to Louisville, only seven minutes away from daughter, Laurie Grimes ’85, who is also a Rhodes grad. Eric reports, “We hated to leave Danville and the Centre College community after 52 years, but health issues and the need for greater proximity to some family members were forceful factors. Our new address is 140 Masonic Home Drive (#2103), Masonic Home, KY. 40041.”

Joanna Kindig McKnight was busy preparing 200 Easter eggs for an Easter egg hunt.

1958

REPORTER Lorraine Rayburn Abernathy LAbernathy04@comcast.net We have made it through another winter, folks, and most of us have received our COVID-19 vaccinations, so Spring 2021 is surely welcome.

38

Henry (Dick) Crais and his wife, Nancy, made their move from Nashville to Memphis during the pandemic. They are now settled at the retirement facility Village at Germantown and looking forward to meeting more people there since restrictions are being modified due to the vaccine. I believe some of our Memphis classmates have already made contact. They have a son in Memphis, Stewart ’94, and a daughter not too far away in Senatobia, MS. Their other son is in Boise, ID. After 60 years in the employee benefits and financial services business, Milton Knowlton in Memphis continues to work each day and hopes to continue for another year or two before fully retiring. He and wife, Mary Joy Prichard ’61, will celebrate their 60th anniversary in October. Their two sons work with Milton at Knowlton Benefit Consultants, Inc., and the Knowltons have five grandchildren. They planned to fly to Fort Lauderdale in late February to visit friends who winter there. They are grateful for the enumerable blessings, especially good health, they have been given.

“At 85,” says Mike Cody, “I have decided to tell Rhodes that this is the last semester I will teach in the political science department.

It is unseemly to keep suiting up after I am so much older than the great Professor Tom Lowery, when he retired. But I will still

stay involved with the college in other ways.” And knowing Mike, he will!

Having asked classmates to let us know they’re still with us, I heard from several folks, including Robert Neil Templeton, who said, “I am here, healthy, happy, and ready to travel! God bless all of us.” Temp and wife, Karen, live in Virginia Beach.

John Quinn and wife, Joan, have “done our part to contribute to herd immunity,” having received their vaccines in February. John said that he “took over” a lower floor in their Arlington, VA, home as a home office and stays very busy with his legal clients, with little time for boredom. At the end of December, the Quinns enjoyed a “major blessing” when their daughter was married at sunset in her backyard. They stayed warm with a small fire, and the masked family and friends toasted the bride and groom.

From Richmond, KY, Tom Reed writes that he has put up a “bird station” with feeders that are being emptied fairly rapidly.

He has also looked into food banks and is contributing to some of those. He has submitted a proposed paper for the American Society of Criminology meeting in November on the 2021 impeachment of President Donald J. Trump for inciting an insurrection. Tom cites some reading materials: on insurrection,

see Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Paper 9#; on impeachment, see his Papers 65# and 66#. “I recommend B.F. Wright’s 1961 book, The Federalists. See his editor’s introduction on the James Madison ‘new federalism’, pp. 41-49, based on Madison’s Federalist Paper #39. See also J.N. Rakove, 2017, A Politician Thinking: The Creative Mind of James Madison.”

Our inveterate San Diego travelers, Dickie and Joan Jones, are beginning to get out more. Cruises from Boston to Quebec they’d booked have been canceled twice, but they rolled over their reservation to October 2023 — love that optimism, Dickie!

In April they are flying to Australia and taking a ship back to Los Angeles.

Having had his vaccinations, Dickie has again begun his semi-retired status of doing two to three VA appraisals a week.

From Wilmington, NC, Nan Schaeffer Graham fills us in on her doings.

Retiring from teaching a class at UNC Wilmington (Searching for the Southern Identity in Film, Fiction and Fact), she also retired from doing brief commentaries on WHQR public radio a year ago. She still keeps a hand into things that fascinate her; she’s working on a new book. Nan writes: “I think of those freshman days at Southwestern … with much affection and gratitude.

Some of your young faces are indelible in my memory. Those Memphis days past are as fresh as any in the decades since. I learned more in our ‘Man’ class than any I ever had anywhere else!”

(Didn’t we all, Nan?!) You can sample some of Nan’s work by googling her name along with SALT magazine and WHQR. Paul Thompson writes from Cape Cod, “It was a good feeling to set our clocks forward an hour and begin thinking about spring, warmer weather, and the earth bursting forth in new leaves and nature’s bounty of color.”

He and wife, Bunny, have had their vaccinations and “can now receive hugs from our grandchildren, Laurel

and Finn.” His Zoom study group is reading and discussing Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry’s new book Love Is the Way, which Paul recommends.

He says, “This comes with my very best wishes to all for a COVID-free spring and a Happy and Joyful Easter.”

1959

REPORTER Sara Jean Jackson Sjj10223@gmail.com 1960

60th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER Mary Crouch Rawson marycrawson@hotmail.com Glenda Taylor Addington writes about her family’s strategy on coping with virus safety restrictions. Glenda and her husband, their daughter and husband, and 16 year-old granddaughter live in Jupiter, FL. At least once a week they meet at the Jupiter Beach Park for several hours to catch up, have snacks, and enjoy the ocean. They distance their chairs and wear masks. (This was early in the pandemic). The time spent together means so much to them all. They plan to continue meeting there even when the danger has passed — a new, good habit! She says, “Celebrate the positives!” Glenda adds they have now received both shots of the vaccines, but are still carefully following all precautions.

Lynda Lipscomb Wexler writes that she and her husband both had mild COVID in September. Now they have had the second vaccine. She says she is proud of our Rhodes female alum being a Supreme Court Justice! They had a family reunion at their daughter and son-in-law’s lake house with both adult children and spouses for the first time in a couple of years. She sends blessings to all!

I would like to add a note of my own.

Getting vaccinated is important! So is the ability to travel and be with family.

I was blessed to go to a magnificent rural resort, BlackBerry Farm, this March. There I hiked, toured their working farm, and ate their superior food. Being in nature sort of resets your health. All caution was taken and I was impressed by the caring of the staff. We are going through a unique year or so with this pandemic.

Many new realizations have come about the fragility of life and the many blessings which have come our way, in spite of this trauma. As I send in my report I just want you to know what a blessing my Rhodes College education continues to be for me. Lifelong learning gives much comfort and a wisdom to cope with the trials of life. I echo Lynda’s wish of blessings to all!

1961

60th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’61 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

1962

REPORTER Diane McCullough Clark granddiva@charter.net Delma Klotz Robinson writes: “In 1962, I graduated, married William Robinson ’61, and started a long history of moving around the country as part of an Air Force family. After Training School in Waco, TX, and Phoenix, AZ, we landed in Beavercreek, OH, for a long tour into retirement, while Bill was working on logistics for the new C-17 aircraft. Our first child, Brian, was born in Memphis in 1968, while Bill was stationed in Thailand as an Electronics Warfare Officer over Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, our second child, Del, was born in Beavercreek in 1970. During our Air

39

Force tour at Wright-Patterson AFB and retirement in Ohio, I learned how to ski, then became a National Ski Patroller and a Primary First Aid and Emergency Care Instructor at three different ski patrols (two start-ups from scratch) and received the NSP Distinguished Service Award! After two knee and one hip replacements, I have now given up skiing due to wearing them out!!! We moved in 2017 to be closer to family in Clovis, CA, and Bill passed soon thereafter, due to exposure to chemicals in Southeast Asia. I am still ready to go for new adventures!!!

Please get in touch.”

out of retirement (“temporarily” he says) to help Emmy Lou Harris record a new album.

Juanita Shettlesworth started the year off with a two-week Viking Ocean Cruise “In Search of the Northern Lights” — completely unsuccessful. Little did she know that it would be an omen for this very strange year. Travel has been a big part of her postRhodes life, so 2020 has been a major adjustment.

Pete Cornish and wife, Jane, are staying home as much as possible during these trying COVID-19 times. They do have infrequent backyard socially distanced dinners with other couples who are also being very cautious. This has included Cyril Hollingsworth ’60 and his wife, Betsy, and Mary Frances Buxton Cotham and her husband, Ralph. They also play online bridge with friends and have Zoom cocktail gatherings. They made a wonderful month-long trip to Southest Asia, returning on March 9. They are proud of how Rhodes has been handling the coronavirus and the plans for the fall. They hope all their classmates are wearing masks and socially distancing as needed.

Warren C. Thompson writes: “At age 80, I am still a fully functional psychologist in Nashville, TN. I volunteer at Gilda’s Club doing groups for those who have lost a loved one to cancer. I am widowed, but my three children and three grandchildren keep me involved in family life. The standing joke is that when we 80-year-olds get together, it is an ‘organ recital,’ each of us sharing our varied physical disabilities.”

Frank Weathersby reports that he is old but still kicking about. Except for a few aches and pains associated with aging, he is A-OK and hopes that all his classmates are, too.

According to David McAdoo, there is a group of Sigma Nu alumni and their wives from the early ’60s era that get together every few years for a “homecoming” of sorts. Jim Petersen ’60 organizes these events, and they are always well attended. They have been to the French Quarter in New Orleans and to Nashville, TN, among other places. Jim arranges plenty of group entertainment reflecting the essence of the locale, such as breakfast at Brennan’s in New Orleans, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and a tour of Jack and Emma Young Thompson’s ’61 ranch in the Nashville area. In addition, there is always lots of time for visiting and catching up. They enter COVID-19 during a period when they should be celebrating their 60th anniversaries of graduation from Rhodes. Not to be outdone by something as annoying as a pandemic, this year Jim arranged a Zoom meeting, which took place in midAugust. There were participants from TN, MS, GA, and TX, and it was good to find out things like Dale Pflug’s ’60 wife, Sunny, had won her years-long battle with cancer and Allen Reynolds ’60 had come

40

Richard Dew has a new book in the editing process at the publisher, and it should be released by the first of October. The title is When Sorrow Comes. It deals with how we can help ourselves and/or others cope with grief. Much of it comes from Richard’s experience of leading a support group for families who have lost children. He has been working on it for several years, but the timing seems appropriate in times of pandemic.

Catherine Liddell Skapura writes that her husband, Robert, died August 22, 2019. She and her son, Neal, take flowers up to the cemetery periodically. They are experiencing a scorching heat wave in California and preparing for rolling black-outs.

Bill and Lynnette Humphreys Campbell ’63 are serving on the board of directors of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in Chapel Hill, NC. They are in the midst of planning six concerts for the 2020-21 season, offering subscriptions for attendance by streaming only, no in-person attendance. It seems to be working for the Metropolitan Opera, so they hope it works for them as well.

Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, Chris Mays of Simi Valley, CA, was serving as organist two Sundays a month at the Westchester United Methodist Church, where he has been a member since 1974. He is currently practicing scales and arpeggios three hours a day, so he will be ready to resume his position when the pandemic has ended.

He is especially proud of his daughter, Beth, who has earned two master’s degrees (orchestral conducting and handbell performance) from Azusa Pacific University and now teaches music at Anaheim University, an online graduate school.

Two years ago Carol Bradshaw Busbee and husband, Wes ’61, moved from their home of 44 years in Rankin County, out in the country, to a retirement community in Ridgeland, MS. They are in independent living, and they enjoy city life and the people who live in their community.

Their three married children, ten grandchildren, and two grand in-law children are all doing well. On July 31 their first great-grandchild, a boy, was born to their oldest grandchild, Carol and husband Kevin, in Bel Air, MD. Margaret Minyard Dement reports that she and husband, Harold, live a life consisting of seriously staying home, venturing out only for Schnauzer walks, curbside pickup, and doctor visits. She did venture into a hospital for knee replacement surgery.

They are extremely grateful these days for streaming, Zoom, church, and exercise.

Bill Mankin retired at the end of 2018 from his second career as a denominational representative for Wyoming American Baptist churches.

He and Mary Beth have returned to their home in Boulder, CO. They are delighted that their son, David ’98, and his family have recently moved from California to a home near them in Lafayette, CO. They get to enjoy frequent times with their young grandsons. They also welcomed a new granddaughter in June, who was born to their daughter, Emily, and her husband, Oren, along with older sister, Alondra.

Bill Davidson and wife, Sharon, left Baton Rouge and returned to Memphis in 2002 after a career at LSU in the Department of Geography and Anthropology. Their sons, Andrew and Chadwick ’94, are married and living in Raleigh and Minneapolis.

Chad has two children. Drew constructed a webpage that documents Bill’s career as a cultural geographer.

(See www.williamvdavidson.com.)

They enjoy travel and continue their research in Central America, especially

Honduras, and Yucatan, where they took their 136th trip abroad in January.

The current topic is the sacred tree of the Maya, the ceiba in cultural context.

They have enjoyed contact this year with classmates Carolyn “Bunky” Haigler Ikenberry, Bob Barret, Mike Truscott, Paul Jackson, and Jim Finley.

Gretchen Smith Rich and husband, Charles ’63, are now both retired, he from his professorial duties at Oklahoma State University in the School of Construction Management and she from 35 years of church staff work (choir direction and Christian education) and Suzuki violin and piano teaching. Their lives at this point center around travel and their children and eight grandchildren, ranging from seventh grade to postcollege. They do a lot of cruising, traveling in their motorcoach, and visiting their vacation home in Pagosa Springs, CO. They spent their 50th anniversary in Wales and their 55th last year in Alaska.

Bob Barret writes: “Learning about the Pacific Northwest from the comfort of my front porch has certainly been a challenge. Towards the end of January, I was feeling settled in with a small cadre of ‘beginning friends’ when COVID-19 whammed all of us into unaccustomed distance. So just about all of 2020 has been lonely. Still there is amazing beauty all around and the arrival of two great grandchildren (one out here and one in Ohio). My daughter, Laura, and seven of her ten children came out for a week of exploring Yellowstone and the Tetons. I loved watching them explore the wonders of this new place and hope that some of them might return next summer. I am missing my travel adventures and have just now planned a road trip to the Oregon coast. The annual Barret Lecture has been canceled this fall, removing a temptation to return to UNC Charlotte and my colleagues and former students. I’m hoping that this year will offer lots of adventure

and a more stable social and political landscape! Best wishes!”

A note from Larry Kinney (below) reveals that he, as a new octogenarian, is reflecting on the process of aging, and he has determined that humor is a necessary element in the process of restoration. He is also trying to learn how to read and write and is enjoying having the time in retirement to get back to reading a bit of philosophy again. He reports that he has always had a weakness for funky hats, and his friends give him hats for special occasions or no occasion.

Writing from her home in Chapel Hill, NC, Carolyn “Bunky” Haigler Ikenberry shares that her husband, Lynn, died last November after a few months of declining health. Retired from a satisfying career in the public sector, she stays busy with political activity and social justice work. She loves taking solace in her native plant garden which boasts a waterfall flowing into a 100-year-old fish pond.

She also volunteers in a local service dog program, founded by her daughter, in which inmates of the North Carolina prison system train the dogs.

One of the dogs was named “Solo” in honor of Bill Davidson’s wife, Sharon Solomito Davidson.

Diane McCullough Clark asserts that one great benefit from the

41

COVID pandemic has been the opportunity to enjoy virtual meetings, conventions, classes, and musical performances that would otherwise have been inaccessible to her. In February she was able to serve on a critiquing panel for the Poetry Society of Tennessee, of which she is a life member. Last fall she especially enjoyed the Rhodes panel discussion with alumni artists working in professional theatre, including two of her former students, Doug Trapp ’85 and Amy Matheny ’92.

1963

REPORTER Dan Gilchrist Dangil4@bellsouth.net Jean-Pierre Potel just received his first issue of the Rhodes magazine. Thanks to whomever arranged that. He remembers good times playing cards with Chris Drago and Irwin From. He has been suffering from the COVID pandemic, but country life has made things better. Joe Pack Arnold planned to visit him but was not able to do so because of COVID. None of his family had caught it and the vaccine is coming soon. He gives a salute to Tom and Carole Lowry and to Jimmy ’62 and Mary Lou Carwile Finley ’64. Fond memories of their visit. Scott Gregory keeps telling him, “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” Joe Duncan has retired from law practice after 54 years. COVID has had some effect. Nevertheless, he continues to teach a virtual “Ethics” course at Rhodes. He and wife, Lee Seabrook Duncan ’73, spend a great deal of time at their house at Lake Toxaway. He still sees his brother, Jerry ’61, quite often (next-door neighbor). Joe is constantly grateful for his years at Rhodes — education and friends. His memories of that time will be with him forever.

Irwin From has been diagnosed with an occlusion in his carotid arteries. Surgery and a short stay in the hospital, then home to recover. He warns his classmates that getting old “is not for sissies.” He lives alone now that he has lost his constant companion — his 18-year-old cat. His email address is ifrom41@ yahoo.com. Please drop him a line.

Joe Pack Arnold is still working (part-time) at Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services. He also participated in the Moderna COVID-19 research project. That’s quite a service to our country and, perhaps, to the entire world.

What a contribution to the battle. He also notes

42

that his seminary class is celebrating their 55th reunion online.

Aubrey Smith really knows how to make a fella jealous. He and his wife, Brenda, are having to tear themselves away from their vacation condo in Orange Beach, AL, in order to go on a trip around the world. They actually left in February: Memphis to Los Angeles, to Auckland, NZ. Then they board an Oceania cruise liner, sailing around Australia, then to Bali, Tokyo, and Thailand. Then they fly to Cape Town for a brisk tour and a safari. Then home.

Will you join me in a fit of jealousy?

Jerry Manley and wife say that they had their second COVID vaccinations and wonder whether they can now visit grandkids in person! He has also become a poet of slight renown: Old Man Winter is a merry old soul!

Sometimes he’s pleasant and again very cold.

Mostly, he goes on his merry old way.

He doesn’t seem to care what people say!

Dorothy H. Larch says this: “First, let me say how much I loved spending my years at Rhodes.

The campus was so beautiful, especially in the spring when that gorgeous dogwood bloomed. I had some great professors over the years, and the friends I made were so fun to be around. I returned to Memphis from Little Rock in the fall of ’63 to be with all of my friends. A couple of years later I married, and we had a son after two years, followed three years later by a daughter. We moved back to Little Rock after 10 years into the home I grew up in, and we raised our children there. I managed my husband’s office. We had many great years during which we traveled to several destinations overseas, including Germany, Switzerland, London, France, Italy, ports in Central and South America, the Holy Land (so awesome), Haiti, Mexico, and Ireland — the really fun years. In 1997 I married my most wonderful husband, Bill Larch, and we just celebrated our 24th anniversary on February 15, 2021. With Bill, I acquired two lovely and fun step-daughters. So, now we have my daughter, who has three daughters, and my son who has one daughter, and my step-daughters, who each have two step-sons. I am truly blessed! In 2012 we sold our 100-year-old house, which had housed four generations, and moved up to Greers Ferry, AR (891 people), where we live on a quiet cove off the Devil’s Fork on Greer’s Ferry Lake. We love this little town and our church, where there is something going on all the time for all ages. If you come up to our area, stop in for a visit!!!!”

This came to me about Philip Green: Phil finds it interesting to be nearly 80 now and seeing that his high school, Germantown HS, now has about 2,000 students. He graduated when there were about 200 and the senior class was 37 students. He says, “I am so glad Rhodes has not grown in that manner. It was a little less than 800 in 1963 and about 2,000 in 2020. No large university can provide the education and growth experience that is available at Rhodes.” He and his wife have managed to hunker down safely during this pandemic year and, by the time of this publication, will have been fully vaccinated. They have managed to continue their jazz music activities with Zoom classes. They are looking forward to a very long road trip in June which will include Phil’s being the officiant at his granddaughter’s wedding in Hood River, OR. Bill Arnold says this: “Hey, Dan. I expect my story is similar to others, just waiting out the pandemic. My wife and I have each had our first dose of the vaccine (Moderna) and expect our second dose the end of this month (March). Once we have passed the two-week mark after our second dose, we are signed up to help in the administration of the vaccines as numbers mount up. No, we will not be doing injections! But, as any who have been through it know, there are multiple other jobs from paperwork to traffic control that need to be done.

We are glad to have the possibility of being helpful in this way. Best wishes to all.”

This interesting news comes from Anne Tutwiler Dwyer: “Just to recapture the last few years, actually a lot of years, I am retired from working as a medical anthropologist in behavioral medicine research. More interesting than my job, however, was the summers I spent excavating with the Maya Research Program at a site called Blue Creek in the northwest Belize jungle. The first year I was there was extremely exciting as deep

into one of the pyramid structures we discovered what turned out to be the second largest cache of jade ever found in Mesoamerica. National Geographic came to document it. These days I am mainly involved in dog rescue, working with the Streetdog Foundation in Memphis. I was widowed in 2006. My husband was a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee. My daughter is back from England living in Germantown and my grandson, a graduate of Harvard, lives in LA. Tragically, I lost my son in 1993.

I would like to share an interesting find I made at an estate sale, an autographed book titled Southwestern at Memphis 1848-1948 by W. Raymond Cooper, former professor of history at Southwestern for 29 years. I of course knew that our school had moved from Clarksville, TN, to Memphis, but I never knew any of the history of that and all the difficulties that ensued trying to get it here. The right of removal from Clarksville to Memphis was ultimately taken to the Supreme Court and the decision handed down in March of 1924. Dr. Cooper’s historical account goes all the way back to the 1830s, when what would later become our beloved Southwestern (Rhodes College) was at that time a male academy, or “log college,” later to become the Montgomery Masonic College, Stewart College, and Southwestern Presbyterian University.

Dr. Cooper describes in great detail the effects of the War Between the States and Reconstruction, including the occupation of Stewart College itself by both the Federals and the Confederates. Once the college was moved to Memphis it continued to be faced with challenging financial times during the Great Depression, war, and lack of students. In truth what was most meaningful to me on a personal level were the firsthand accounts of the crucial participation of my grandfather, Thomas H. Tutwiler, then president of the Memphis Power and Light Company, who was named to the college Board of Directors in 1928 and

would later become treasurer of the college and help steer Southwestern through a grave financial situation during the Great Depression, when there was danger of the institution having to close. Under the leadership of Dr. Charles Diehl and major donors, the mortgage indebtedness was paid in full by February 1931. This is a brief description of the book and there are many, many fascinating details about the development of what we know as Rhodes College today. Quite poignant to me in my readings was the emergence of endearing names which would become my professors, including Dr. Laurence Kinney, Dr. John H. Davis, Dr. J.R. Benish, Dr. John Q. Wolf, among them, and of course our beloved Dr. Peyton Rhodes.”

Reporter’s Note: Take time to look at the dedication page of our ’63 annual.

I think that Dr. Kinney was a favorite of the entire ’63 class!

From Margaret Johnson Ridolphi: “I continue to live in Memphis with my husband and dog. But we spend as much time as possible in Highland, NC. In fact, we are headed that way tomorrow and plan to be there most of the summer. So, if anyone is in the Asheville-Atlanta area, give us a call and come by! (We’ll be the only Ridolphi in the book!) No exciting news from us except that my daughter, Meg Thomas Crosby, is on the Rhodes Board of Trustees. Imagine that! Our best to all!”

This comes from John Bryan: “News for me: this month (not certain about the interesting to others part) I was elected director at large, Senior Liberals’ Commission - Ontario (for The Liberal Party of Canada) — it means I get to attend several more Zoom meetings (and contribute at an earlier stage to Party’s policy development). More than filling my days are that, plus the weekly “Story Worth …” project questions that our daughter-in-law has me responding to (e.g. “What was one of the most romantic moments in your life?” —

43

(reminder: she gets to ask the questions) and the questions that come with being on the board of our co-op (“When will COVID restrictions allow us to use the indoor pool?” and “Can you stop our neighbor’s marijuana smoke from coming into our apartment?”) Almost weekly, Mike France and I exchange bits of news and humour via email, same with Bill Wilson (roomy and Class of ’64, with whom I entered Rhodes). In Canada, we have recorded 20,905 COVIDrelated deaths. Good news is how comparatively few. Sad news is so many Canadians taken. May the sorrow and stress of COVID grow lighter for us all, as rapidly as circumstance will allow.

1964

REPORTER Mary Lou Quinn McMillin Maryloumc1@comcast.net I write this “summertime entry” in the middle of Holy Week, aware of the suffering and the limitations of a pandemic that seemingly will not “let us go,” the beauty of the emerging springtime bursting forth all around us, and the anticipated joy of Easter’s promised resurrection — the ongoing paradox of life itself! Yet, with vaccinations becoming more and more accessible and warm weather returning, my hope is that as you sit to read these words you will be feeling a bit more comfortable to gather with friends on porches and patios and share the stories of our lives. Thanks to our classmates who have shared their stories or simply an update.

Tom Lappage writes, “The past year has been most unusual for all of us. For us: no traveling or eating out, very little shopping.

Fortunately, the county library was able to reopen on a limited basis, so we are able to keep a

44

supply of books to read. We have managed to remain healthy and have had both of our vaccinations.

Hope life will return to something more normal by the end of the year.”

Trisha Edington tells us: “Needless to say, the last year has not been an easy one to transverse.

There have been positive notes.

Howard and I live in a beautiful place: Montreat, NC. We have avoided the coronavirus, and we have received both of our vaccines.

Much of our time this past year has been spent dealing with a huge project. A wonderfully creative team of people have set about digitizing Howard’s sermons and teachings (more than 1,200 so far).

All of that is being loaded onto a website (thewordmadefresh.org) which is user-friendly and comes at no cost. The project covers the more than 50 years of Howard’s ministry and has kept both of us busy for the last eight months. All in all, it has not been such a bad year for us given the most unusual circumstances.”

From Jim Bullock we hear, “We have come through the pandemic, many times going crazy with cabin fever. I have had an operation on my foot. Ervin ’65 had to be in the hospital six days to correct a kink in her intestine, but we continue to be comforted by our activities. Ervin has been working on a project of living room conversations, bringing people who have different points of view together to talk and listen to each other. She has at least ten of these groups, seeking to build a united America. I have continued mentoring by Facebook and telephone. We both have been in a Zoom book group reading Caste by Wilkerson, which really changed our attitudes about racism in America. We are now reading Ten Lessons for a Post Pandemic World by Zakaria. As

we have followed our callings, we have watched our beach get totally nourished by the Army Corps of Engineers. We spend our Sundays reading a book called Dialogues in Sexuality. We watch our worship service in St. Augustine, my son’s worship service in Mobile, and my daughter-in-law’s service in Jacksonville Beach. We just got our vaccine shots for COVID, so in two weeks we can get out more than where we have been. We wish the best to everybody. Stay healthy.”

Reporter’s Note: I asked to know more about the “living room conversations” and Jim told me just to Google: Living Room Conversations. I did and found detailed information on how to facilitate such a group.)

Anne Clark Harris shares, “I’m just fine! I’ve moved to Germantown Village to live and am going to dialysis three days a week but am doing just fine! We’re all still separated but due to get our second shot, so maybe we’ll be free soon! Hopefully so.”

From Marilyn Easterling Turnley: “While I have missed the usual routine, there was still much to do, such as calling to check up and to catch up, cleaning out drawers and cabinets, finishing up on a large T-shirt quilt which has been warm the last two weeks, time to read for pleasure and inspiration, recovering from COVID, and donating plasma.

We talked my daughter and her family into moving back in with us while they renovate another home. We just hope we don’t drive them crazy while they are here as Bryce and I really, really enjoy having them here. Their eldest is a junior at LSU in pre-med. We thought we had enough seed for the birds before the storm (NOTE: Marilyn lives in the northwest corner of Louisiana

and is referring to the snowstorm that surprised much of the South in late February), but the birds sent out a message to gather here for meals.

There have been literally hundreds and hundreds of birds here looking for food. We made sheets of lard, peanut butter, uncooked oatmeal, yellow cornmeal, grapes, bananas, apples until we ran out of that also. The five cats were unhappy because I locked them in the house. So far, they have not slit my throat. Twenty years ago, my son-in-law built me a huge glass box (sunroom), as I dislike being outside with the bugs and mosquitoes, so we have been able to enjoy watching the six or seven different kinds of birds feasting as well as our resident three cardinal pairs. Our son and daughterin-law have been visiting during the snow with their dog (a wolfhound) who enjoys bounding through the snow. I never dreamed I would get to see snow again much less this quantity. We’ve been blessed to have maintained water and electricity. In parishes all around us, this is not true and still won’t be for several more days.

Although I am not ‘techie,’ we have been on Zoom with my brother and his family in Pittsburgh, as well as various Methodist meetings. It is fun getting to see old friends and keep up with mission projects. We may be aging but we are still going strong. May God continue to bless everyone.”

Wendlandt Hasselle ’74 and Caroline Hasselle conspired to share this wonderful update/bio of Bob Hasselle: “Bob is a sculptor and potter who has worked in the art field for over 50 years. He has a BA (dual major) in art and philosophy from Rhodes College and has an MFA in sculpture from Tulane University. Bob has been a faculty member at Ohio State, where he ran the bronze foundry, and at Cincinnati Art Academy, where he was head of the sculpture department and started the ceramics program.

Throughout his career, Bob has had numerous awards, the most noteworthy being the museum purchase awards.

His work has been included in the

permanent collections of several museums including: The Huntington Museum of West Virginia, the Mobile Museum of Art, Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, the Tulane University Collection, the Ohio State University Collection, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. One of his first shows was held at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Bob is regularly asked to share his expertise. He has been an artist-in-residence at Fairmont State University in West Virginia and Shawnee State University in Ohio, taught as an adjunct faculty member at Winthrop University and the University of South Carolina at Columbia, and conducted numerous workshops on pottery in university and community settings. He has publications in Ceramics Monthly and America Craft journals. Bob is married to Dr. Caroline Everington Hasselle. In 2000, they moved to Rock Hill, SC, where he has a studio at Rock Hill Pottery Center.

Although semi-retired, Bob continues to enjoy working in his studio. At Rhodes, Lawrence Anthony was a big mentor in art for both Bob and Barry Snyder.

Bob and Barry were roommates and both went on to become professors in their field of study. A bit of trivia: Bob and Barry shared their apartment on Forrest Avenue with a pet monkey and two young hawks rescued from a nest on a trip out west!”

I have had the delightful pleasure of having both my children, Lisa (Wooley) of Nashville and Sid of Pray, MT, visit.

Both were here for a week in early March — our first time together in a year. Then Sid extended his stay for nearly three more weeks and helped me get all the “spring chores” done in the yard and house plus a good bit more! Such a GIFT! On April 1st, I am looking forward to a Tea Tasting Party hosted by Judy Moody Daniels LePera ’65 on Zoom — a delightful way to Welcome April! Two other Rhodes alums will be with us: Gail Hoover Parrish and Ann Reed Held ’73, as well as Judy’s daughters, daughters-inlaw and granddaughters — a wonderful multi-generational experience! This “tea

friendship adventure’ is a creation of OpenDoorTea.com should you want to know more. Continue to stay safe and healthy, until we meet again!

1965

55th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER Mary McQueen Porter 2harps1dog@gmail.com Class Reporter Mary McQueen (Queenie) Porter writes: “All of our worlds changed in March 2020. Mine did, seemingly overnight, when I made a quick visit to daughter Susan Hagood in Atlanta on my way to northeast Florida to visit Rose Gladney ’67 in Fernandina Beach and son, Thomas Hagood, in Jacksonville. While Rose was questioning whether it was safe to go to choir practice (to which I was invited to accompany her), it got canceled. Thomas got word that his workplace, the Jacksonville Public Library, was being closed. Back at home, the world was turning to Zoom. My subdued pandemic life was brightened by the tiny but glorious wedding of my daughter, Susan, to Emilian Marinov — held in the Birmingham backyard of daughter, Mary Scott Pearson, and husband, Blake. All in attendance participated — including my three Pearson grandchildren — Samantha, who sang, and Becca and Blake, who read. If that were not enough excitement for one pandemic, Susan gave birth in Atlanta to a son, Arden Marin Hagood Marinov, my fourth grandchild. I finally got to hold him at four weeks — after getting my second dose of the vaccine. I’ve been glad to continue part-time work as parish associate for Congregational Care, with the much older congregation at Shades Valley Presbyterian Church, giving me opportunities to interact with Gail Hoover Parrish and Lee Ann Litwiller Thompson ’65. I’ve had to adapt to give pastoral care

45

remotely — now happily getting back to face-to-face contacts, if not hugs! I’ve continued to volunteer with Sage-ing International, creating and leading an interactive webinar, Live and Learn — Legacy Now! As my energies wax and wane, I’ve worked (dabbled!) at memoir writing, learning Spanish (with the help of the online app Duolingo), and improving my meager Scrabble skills — so that play with my expert son, Thomas, is not so one-sided.”

Bill Boyd writes: “In July 2019 my wife, Joyce Jacobsen, became the first woman president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She feels an especial affinity for Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the U.S. to earn an MD degree — who received it from this school in 1849 when it was Geneva Medical College. The colleges still have a desk used by Dr. Blackwell when she was a student here — now in Joyce’s outer office. We are enjoying living in the center of the Finger Lakes region and have settled into a beautiful old 1836 mansion overlooking Seneca Lake. There are four children — two in Memphis with our five grandchildren, as well as one in Brooklyn and one in Denver (Rhodes class of 2015).

I am trying to master woodworking and also have an online course Python: A Concise Introduction with Coursera through Wesleyan University, which currently has over 12,000 graduates from around the world. New address: boyd@hws.edu (although wboyd@ wesleyan.edu still works.)

Harvey Caughey writes: “Sheila and I survived single-digit temperatures during 75 consecutive hours without power during the February blizzard that paralyzed Austin. But spring has arrived, and our redbud trees are blossoming beautifully. Armed with both our COVID shots, we hope to resume traveling soon.”

Jim Collier writes: “I have been retired now for 13 years from First Presbyterian Church in Wooster, OH. My wife, Janelle, and I still live in Wooster but usually spend our winters in Austin, TX, where our daughter, Vivian, and her family live. We also have a son, Chris, and family in Vermont, where we like to visit any time other than winter. We have traveled a good bit since retirement but are slowing down some with age and COVID. We do a lot of volunteer work and some days have six+ Zoom meetings between us.

Overall, we are very blessed with healthy families and five wonderful grandchildren.”

Tom Durff writes: “2020 was the Year of Cancer at the Durff household, as I received radiation treatment for recurrent prostate cancer followed by Judy’s ’65 eight hospital stays in which she received inpatient

46

chemotherapy for a very aggressive lymphoma. The social isolation and greatly reduced traffic due to COVID actually facilitated our treatments. We are both in remission and in good spirits. As life is beginning to return to normal, we look forward to visits to Manhattan Beach (with daughter, Jessica, and her family) and to Seattle (with son, Robert, and his husband). We are both grateful for the prayers, love, and support we received from so many Rhodes friends during the past year.”

Lou Ellyn Hindman Griffin writes: “We live in Salem, OR, and have kept up with Patty Stark George in Salem, Betsy Moore Ayrer ’64, and Terri Tidwell Hornberger in Seattle. In March 2020, we were sad to see our favorite activities shut down: a Thursday class of 3-year-olds (while moms were at Bible study), a volunteer reading program, and Gerry’s spring skiing. As weather improved, we began Friday safe social-distance gathering with our children’s families in our backyards or around an outdoor fire pit with takeout or barbeque. At June’s family gathering in our yard, we held a high school graduation ceremony for our granddaughter, Katie, with appropriate music from a cell phone and mock certificate presentation from her dad. In the summer we got outdoors each week for hikes in local parks, on nearby college campuses, and at the coast. In October we spent a week at our time share near Mt. Hood, OR. We had good weather for hikes in the Mt. Hood National Forest and had takeout lunch on the back patio at the Timberline Lodge. We are happy to be getting our second vaccine jab.”

Teri Tidwell Hornberger writes: “Since life as usual came to a screeching halt in March of 2020, I have been grateful for Zoom as a way to be connected. Being a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) leader has been the highlight of my year. I have been delighted with a great group of 15 ladies, with whom I have learned a lot; I am walking with the Lord in a new way! Having had the two shots, I am back to church helping teach the fifth-graders and have a neat group of ladies in my widows group, which has been delightful and fun! I will plan on coming to the 55th Class Reunion, if that happens, and hope a lot of our classmates will attend!” Teri says she is glad for memories of 2019 — “the most exciting and full year I have ever had.” She traveled to two memorable out-of-town family weddings and went on two cruises, including Australia and New Zealand, in which she celebrated her 76th birthday (the best ever!) and got to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. The other cruise, originating in Copenhagen, had stops at many European cities as well as Bermuda. Her favorite was the Roman city of Bath, with the Roman ruins and

natural baths that are still in operation today. The trip ended in New Orleans, where she and her sister, Anne, enjoyed a week together as tourists, enjoying the cuisine.

Bob Sessum writes: “For the most part, things are going well. We recovered from a light case of COVID-19 in March 2020 which took nine weeks of recovery — me from pneumonia and Donna from bronchitis. We have both now had our second vaccine shot, without any real effects, and have begun seeing our 5-year-old grandson, who also lives in Raleigh, NC, where we live now. In April 2021, I am celebrating the 50th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, for which we return to St Paul’s Church (Chattanooga) where it all began. Yes, these are the “golden years” excluding health. Donna has early stages of Alzheimer’s and I have Inclusion Body Myositis, but we are struggling along. Fortunately, we are able to take advantage of Duke Hospital in Durham. The other exciting news is that I have become an author. The title of the book is Legacy of a Lifetime: A Planned Gift Implementation Resource. A manual for securing planned gifts for a church of any denomination or size, it is a systematic and sustainable program that is formalized, progressive, and — most importantly — volunteer-based and driven. The published release date was April 16. In my retirement, I am happy to assist in the ministry of Calvary Episcopal Church with several volunteer jobs.”

1966

55th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER Sammy Ann Primm Marshall sammyannmarshall@gmail.com We have all experienced a year of change that we might not have expected in any way and during this

time some members of our class have learned new skills and adapted to different ways of leading our lives. I was one of those people who decided to enlarge my family by getting a puppy, who is definitely getting me out to walk more regularly and keeping me company.

Mackie Mitchel Rice and her husband Dr. John Rice ’63 have recently moved from Cape Cod back south to Richmond, VA. John writes, “Our #2 son, John Henry Rice, is the curator of the South Asian and Islamic collection here at the VMFA, and our youngest granddaughter is a sophomore in Lexington.” John is a retired Episcopal priest who has remained canonically resident in the Diocese of Virginia and supplies congregations in the Northeast and Caribbean. Gardening and painting are their “fondest hobbies.”

Richard Jennings writes that a year of lockdown with his dog, Marley, has taught him that he can take care of himself.

Joyce Malone Wilding is glad we have Zoom but adds, “In some ways I am ‘zoomed’ out. Glad it enabled me to keep my URI work.” She says, “A joy of my life, as a devoted Democrat, was getting to know about the dynamic work and life of George Schultz, who promoted a ban of all nuclear weapons with Bishop Swing, founder of URI. You can learn more about it from a piece on NPR.” 1967

REPORTER Sam Highsmith arpenguy@me.com Jim McKnight wrote: “In January I decided that Christine, my wife of 49 years, and I had made it through 2020 and now our job was to make it through 2021. We live on a golf course in Saratoga Springs, NY, and we could play a lot of golf. In New York State, golf was one of the few sports/ gatherings that was allowed. Our lives were put on hold in 2020, so as things

slowly return to a more normal life, please join me in deciding to make it through 2021.”

From Douglass Post: “It is good to hear from you. Susan and I are reasonably well, considering that we just turned 74 and 76. I finally retired this spring. Susan and I got our first vaccinations a couple of weeks ago.

We are awaiting the second vaccination now. It will be a liberating experience to get out of the house. We have been sheltering in place in our home in McLean, VA, since February 2020. We have really liked the DC and Virginia area as a place to live. It will be nice to be able to visit the museums and other attractions during weeks when they are much less crowded. We’ve kept in touch with some of our Southwestern colleagues: Bo Scarborough, Walter Howell ’66, and Larry Churchill among them. Stay in touch.”

David Blankenship responded: “We are relatively well. We are both struggling with the adversities that older age brings. I have recovered from congestive heart failure a year ago. I finally stopped practicing law at about the same time. Laura ’90, my daughter, a Rhodes alumna, is in San Francisco trying to get a girls’ school going. My granddaughter, Stephanie, will graduate from Occidental in LA this spring.”

From Jeanne Hope Buckner: “I don’t really have any news of importance. I know we all have been through a year like no other. Being quarantined has found me reading more and finding a new awareness of what my life has been and what it can be. Most of all I have appreciated the small blessings so much more. As my husband says, ‘We are halfway through the fourth quarter, so let’s make the most of it.’ I send my best to all of you.”

1968

REPORTER Drue Thom White drueboo@aol.com

47

48

Barbara Lesh Borleske writes: “Steve and I, and everyone else in our immediate family, avoided contracting COVID. We were very careful about where we went, wearing masks, and cleaning our hands in the car every time we went somewhere. We have two daughters who are in health care and they stayed safe although they did have to work sometimes with COVID-positive patients.

Fortunately, we have been fully vaccinated and feel more relaxed about shopping, seeing friends who have been vaccinated, etc.

We are not giving up our masks and sanitizing routine because it works! We still have not eaten at a restaurant inside, but we’re thinking about it! This has certainly been a year for the record books. No trips to talk about, and I’m not sure if we will travel abroad again. Our grandchildren and two of our three children live very near, so we have enjoyed family during these challenging times. We are very fortunate that both of us are avid gardeners. I have an interest in growing and hybridizing gesneriads. They are mostly tropical plants that I grow inside under lights. Steve and I both love growing outside — we grow as much food as we can on our small lot, but we also enjoy growing many different kinds of plants. We also love to visit all the gardens in the area, and in Delaware and southern Pennsylvania there are many! I hope that all members of our class have managed to get the vaccine. It’s the only way we are going to be able to get back to more normal living, and it’s also a way to slow down the rapid mutation of the virus. As a retired teacher, I’ve worried about the impact the pandemic has had on our children’s education. They need to be in school, and even if we cannot eliminate COVID, we can live with it if we have a very high level of immunity in the community. Let’s hope that

when our 55th Reunion comes in 2023, we feel safe enough to travel to Memphis and share all our COVID war stories!”

Judi Adams Larson writes: “Wish I had something really interesting to tell everybody! But we have both been well and we have not had COVID! John and I have both had our second vaccine shots with no bad side effects and we are very thankful about that! And still, one of the highlights of the day is going to the mailbox and getting packages from FedEx and USPS, etc.! We have worked oodles of puzzles and read lots and lots of books. We have even been swapping puzzles with Tommy ’66 and Danna Edmonds Brooks and comparing notes on how long it took us to finish one.”

Facebook link to hear them sing, Hear Our Prayer: https://bit. ly/30VO1cN. Also the prayer written by Paul Tudor Jones ’32, left, still speaks to me.) Claudia and I are double vaccinated and acclimated to being human again.

I thought I would die of boredom and excessive Fritos.”

Louis Pounders shares: “I’m designing a lake house to be built at Eden Isle in Heber Springs, AR, for a couple who live in Dallas.

Hopefully, construction will begin in June with completion in 2022.

DJP (Dottie Johnson Pounders) continues to teach two courses at the University of Memphis Law School. Classes have been meeting via Zoom, which has been a challenge. We’ve gotten our shots and have been laying low.”

1969 ­ REPORTER Kathie Maddux Larkin rhodes4495@gmail.com 1970

50th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’70 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

1971

50th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER Betha Hubbard Gill bethagill@hotmail.com

From Bruce Cook: “I had the occasion to hear our Rhodes Singers at the Northside Baptist Church in Atlanta last year and thought they were great. (Visit this

1972

REPORTER Robin McCain robin@slmr.com

Cathie Yongue Dodson ’72 and Frank Dodson ’71 share: “One way we’ve held onto our sanity through the past year has been a weekly Zoom with friends from Southwestern/ Rhodes. Since this pic (below) was taken in January 2021, Robin Ritter Hatzenbuehler ’71, Barbee Smith ’72, and several folks from the class of ’70 (Wayne Rickoll, Charlie Lemond, and Tom Thomas) have also joined us from time to time. It’s been a good way to reconnect, share old memories, encourage one another, and remind ourselves that, somehow, all will be well!”

1973 ­ REPORTER Pamela McNeely Williams usafa2@sbcglobal.net Natalie Honan Vernon lives in Macon, GA, with her husband, Minor ’71, who recently retired from pediatrics. They are the proud parents of three children and six grandchildren. She is busy with church activities and playing bridge and golf and they are hoping to travel soon!

Chris Lyons, a former Marine Infantry Officer, has retired from the Foreign Service and is working part-time as a service contractor for the Diplomatic Security Service. Chris and his wife live in Centreville, VA, and have three children and three grandchildren. His father, Dr. Harold Lyons, was a chemistry professor at Rhodes from 1958 to 1989 and passed away in 1999.

Patricia Spears Jones was appointed the Hollins University Louis D. Rubin Writer in Residence poet for 2020-2021 and has had poems published in The Brooklyn Rail and The New Yorker. She

is curating and moderating a panel for the AWP conference for 2021. She has joined the Advisory Board of Jackleg Press and judges the Fordham University Poets Series. Patricia also reads for events at Barnard College, Pomona College, and Stanford University.

Scott Wilds celebrated 40 years with his recently married husband, Martin, and they live in Philadelphia, PA, and are (hopefully) looking forward to traveling again after this virus crisis is over! Scott has been retired from the city of Philadelphia and is a trustee of the Board of Certification of Genealogists. They love the local Episcopal church and enjoy cooking with Martin being the chef!

Maria Jones Prather attended Rhodes for the first two years and then transferred to Mississippi State University where she majored in fashion merchandising and textiles. She married a farmer in Belzoni, MS, and lived there for 20 years before moving to Pine Bluff, AR; Batesville, MS; and then on to Starkville, MS, to maintain a residence in their family home. During this time, Maria entered the interior design and restaurant businesses. Her husband, Bryan, and she have three children who all live close to them and two, Whitney and her husband and Tyler, are actively involved in farming. Justin owns a fabrication company which includes iron works to building trailers. Maria and Bryan enjoy their Presbyterian church and she fondly remembers her time at Rhodes and fun in the New Dorm!

Candace Keirns-Bitensky started a new job last year as a bilingual contact tracer for the Shelby County Health Department (TN) providing information about preventing COVID-19 for the Spanish-speaking communities. As graduates of St. Mary’s Episcopal School (Memphis, TN), Candace and I see each other at many of the school’s organizations! She is a recent widow and we all express our condolences.

Pamela Pulliam Taylor, who now lives in Cedar Rapids, IA, and a retired teacher, was widowed seven years ago and later found a great friend and husband there. They love Iowa in the summer but head south for warmer weather during the winter. She is a proud parent of a daughter who has given Pam three wonderful grandchildren.

Eldon New has been busy coping with the 2021 snow and ice storm and loves visiting the Memphis Public Library that closed during that time. He also couldn’t access Share One, Inc., his office building. Then, on top of all things, Memphis Light, Gas & Water decided to dig huge holes in front of his house where he had to walk many blocks to get to his car along with an order to boil drinking water and to stop showering! Ugh! I think things have settled down for him!

Joy Giddens Lumb and Martin have lived on the Isle of Skye in Scotland for the past 11 years and were previously busy with a B&B at the time even though the weather was challenging! During the cold winters they appreciate lots of star gazing, which is very soothing! Joy and Martin are busily helping with cleanups for the past seven years which is a necessary feat with the fish farming pollution. She wishes the best for us, the Class of 1973!

Bridget and Scott Howard live in Houston, TX, where he retired in 2015 and now has interests in growing fruits and vegetables for sale to an organic co-op. He keeps busy with several nonprofit organizations and recently completed five years as president of Urban Harvest. Bridget is the editor of a Danish monthly magazine which keeps her very busy! They are looking forward to our next reunion, the 50th, and a return to minus virus normalcy!

Yippee!

Doug Davidson, Judy Brooks Tygard, Janel Worsley Feierabend, Meriwether Montgomery, Herman Morris, Debbie Brooks Keller, Faith

49

Dietrick, and Erica Larson Sartain all responded to this newsletter requesting their wishes and happiness for our wonderful 1973 Rhodes class!

Pamela McNeely Williams: I retired after 38 years of teaching/ guidance services in the local school systems. We have three children and nine grandchildren with #10 arriving this summer. I am tired after writing that! Our children live all over the states and we are proud to have an Ole Miss graduate and an Air Force Academy family with two children, one daughter-in-law, and one son-in-law. My husband, Brian, a retired Air Force major, also served our country with pride and is a retired county judge in Crittenden County, AR. He now spends his time working as a public defender and child support attorney. My father was drafted into the Army for WWII and I wish I had listened more carefully about his overseas duties. Thanks to all who have served! Please send me any more news about your lives and I will do my best to keep up with it! Lots of happiness to all of you! Many of the e-mails listed were returned as defunct, so with some time, I will sort it out with the Rhodes office. (Editor’s note: If you did not receive an e-mail requesting updates, please e-mail alumni@rhodes.edu to provide your correct e-mail address.)

1974

REPORTER Wendlandt Hasselle jahlove2222@yahoo.com As a class, in general, almost all of us can say, regretfully, that we were denied celebration of our 50th high school reunions in 2020 due to COVID. Such a milestone that we weren’t allowed to enjoy. Mine was to be rescheduled in 2021, but no further mention of such

50

has been made. We canceled a trip to Hawaii to visit family and friends last March due to COVID. A friend and I booked a trip to Ethiopia for this March, and it was canceled. So it goes. We did make it to Hot Springs for our wedding anniversary in late January! Much of my time was spent horsebackriding and playing tennis, since we deemed outdoor activities safe (a friend in Spain wrote that they weren’t even allowed out of their home to take a walk, and, if one had a dog it could go out only to use the bathroom — no walking the dog). Most friends spent their time organizing their households. I had great intentions of so doing, but just never quite got to it. Read books, walked the dog, restarted yoga, and meditation. Not having to wear makeup due to masking-up and not having to dress up since we couldn’t go anywhere was a plus, until it eventually got boring! I started a nine-month protocol to cure chronic Lyme disease (this being the perfect time to do it). A keto diet was required, so, not needing to lose any weight, I looked like a scarecrow at 98 pounds. Summer and fall were mainly spent at the family cabin in Hardy, AR (as did ALL the neighbors), so that was my social life. Sadly, my middle brother was in a nursing home and died of dementia/COVID on July 4.

His burial was our only family gathering for the year. The most exciting thing we did was taking part in a French documentary filmed in the Mississippi Delta last Fall! Christmas Day we drove around Memphis exchanging gifts outside in family’s and friends’ driveways in freezing temps.

Larry Anderson is glad to report that his work as a painting conservator hasn’t slacked off a bit, and that working from home is no problem. He has enjoyed social distancing with a few friends!

Mary Lynn Wells Bersey spent 40 years in Nuclear Medicine, retiring in 2013 from JacksonMadison Co. General Hospital.

She played with animals as a foster mom for the Humane Society on her ranchette for about 10 years. She has moved to sunny Florida to stay warm and exclaims she does not “miss the ice and snow!” Her “fur babies” consist of three dogs and a cat. She has begun taking pottery classes and is “so far, healthy and happy” and planning to be at our 50th reunion.

Frank Broyles wrote nothing about himself, but said he hoped for an 80 percent response by our classmates.

Parkes Casselbury is “hanging in there” and talks with many friends and family on Facebook and Zoom. She had to cancel a special planned trip with her daughter and grandchildren to France last summer to meet with French relatives. Having several friends come down with the virus, she became a cook, taking them special meals to help them through their recuperations. She’s enjoying genealogical research, watching old concert videos, and reading mysteries. She looks forward to going to a live concert again.

Brant Copeland retired from First Presbyterian Church on November 1, 2020. The return email did not give his location.

Lillian Lyle Israel recently retired after nearly 40 years of practicing pediatrics in Birmingham, AL. She said, “It was my great joy to encourage some of my patients to attend Rhodes. My four years there were some of the best years of my life! Two of my three children also attended, and my daughter and her husband (Classes of 2009 and 2008,

respectively) still live in Memphis. So, I occasionally get to revisit campus and am always surprised at how much it has changed and at the same time it has remained un-changed. Sending greetings to former classmates and hoping you are all well and living the dream!” She also said she “wanted to respond so that John Sikes would not be the only former Clarksvillian to weigh in!”

Debra Jackson Walden married Mike Walden ’73 45 years ago and moved to Little Rock five years ago to be near her daughters and six grandchildren.

She retired as an associate professor of nursing at ASU in 2014, and now works at Arkansas Children’s Hospital as a clinical research coordinator.

Sarah Lodge moved from Memphis, after St. Mary’s bought her house and her mother developed Alzheimer’s, to nearby Sewanee, TN, to assist in her mother’s care. After 14 years as CFO at St. Andrews-Sewanee School, she is retired. She sent lots of news and some photos of those with whom she keeps in touch, including the one below of a group of Rhodes graduates from the Class of 1974, from a few years ago.

“We get together at least annually at the beach and have been doing so for about 35 years. It’s one of the best weeks of the year!”

Above: Conie Lowry Abernathy, Covington, LA; Sarah Lodge, Sewanee, TN; Melba Bridgewater Homra, Jackson, TN; Louise Pryor Campbell, Atlanta, GA; and Dabney Nicholls Haugh, Paducah, KY.

Billy Newton retired as pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church in Maryville, TN. He was the Rhodes Chaplain from 1990 to 2006. He has “rekindled” his love for backyard beekeeping during COVID and spends his time between his properties near Asheville and Knoxville.

Prudence Owens McGehee, a cousin, sent out her first Christmas newsletter.

(She and I attended our 40th class reunion together, as she spent the night with us in Hollywood.) She has her “dream job” teaching art at a community college in McComb, MS, where she lives in a big old house. It had hazardous electrical problems recently and needed rewiring, so she had to move all the furniture from one side of the hall to the other twice for completion of the job. She got broken into one night, losing mainly liquor, and now never neglects to turn on the burglar alarm before going to bed! She and her boyfriend of several years have a long-distance relationship between McComb and his homes in Florida and Pennsylvania. She taught remotely until September, when the college resumed classes in person. 2020 was the first summer since 1956 that her family was unable to go to their beloved Kanuga in NC, so they rented cabins in East Tennessee in the late Fall.

Barry Rhodes retired from the CDC in Atlanta after 25 years, prior to which he taught physics at Clark Atlanta University for 10 years. He is now living in rural western NC and working as a potter!

Kathy Trammell Scruggs wrote on 13 February to say she was “hunkered down in Hunt, TX by the fire watching ice moving down the Guadalupe River, wind chill of -13 degrees.” She transferred her sophomore year to the University of Texas, but lived in or near Memphis from 1994 to 2016, having taught at the University of Memphis from 2009 to 2014.

John Sites says “hello to all.” And that is all …

1975

45th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER Anna Olswanger annaolswanger@gmail.com Vincent Astor opened the show at the re-dedication of the Orpheum Theatre’s Wurlitzer pipe organ on November 19, the 92nd anniversary of the Orpheum.

One of only about a dozen remaining functional showpiece organs out of the 2,234 built by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company between 1910 and 1943, the Orpheum’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” went through a painstaking restoration. At the re-dedication, Vincent played what he calls his “tried and true pieces,” including “Never, Never Land” and “Old Man River,” which he dedicated to the memory of James Hyter, who performed the song every year during the Memphis in May festival. Vincent says that there was so much yellow tape for social distancing at the show that the Orpheum looked like a dozen crime scenes. Also in the fall, Vincent did a recording for Elmwood Cemetery’s DVD series My Elmwood featuring the two characters he loves to perform, Wade Bolton, a notorious slave trader who bequeathed the land where the current Bolton High School stands, and James Dick Davis, one of Memphis’ earliest historians.

Mary Beck Clerget lives in Little Rock, AR, with her family and admits the pandemic year has been challenging for them. While her sons have been home and attending college on-line, she has been working remotely as an EHS (Environment/ Health/Safety) consultant. She advises multiple industry sectors including transportation, healthcare, global venue management, national athletic organizations, theme parks, and city governments about disinfection of facilities and preparation of pandemic response plans established by local health departments. Mary says that

51

being a biology major at Rhodes College laid the foundation for her career in EHS, and that the time she spent in the laboratories of Frazier Jelke Science Center and the Chemistry Department gave her a foundation to build on. She is especially grateful to professors Dr. Charlie Warren (Biology) and Dr. Harold Lyons (Biochemistry/ Analytical Chemistry). She is also grateful to sorority big sister Dr. Martha Crenshaw ’74 and sorority sister and classmate Kate Pera for their support and friendship at Rhodes. Mary and Kate met the first day of their freshman year and have been friends since.

Theresa Carl Cloys retired from the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation, the nonprofit that sustains Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. She says her passion for early childhood literacy came from working through the years with nonprofits that focus on women and children. She saw how devastating it can be for children not to be prepared to enter school and believes that early childhood literacy has to begin at birth. Theresa majored in political science at Rhodes and says that learning to think critically served her well through the years. She loved the community that was — and is — Rhodes, including her professors. Theresa and her husband, Norm, are excitedly awaiting the birth of their first grandchild to their daughter, Sarah, and her husband, both scientists in Basel, Switzerland.

The class of ’75 mourns the loss of Jeff Hudgins, who died January 23, 2021. Andy Branham reports that he met Jeff his freshman year at Rhodes and they immediately became friends, rooming together off and on through college and then spending summer vacations on the Tennessee River together

52

and with other friends for over 30

by Walt Disney, Michael Jackson, years. Andy says Jeff was charming, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, whip-smart, and a natural athlete, Nat King Cole, and others, a excellent at flag ball and the card situation that took Joey eight game of euchre. He was also an years to achieve. He has come to accomplished thespian and stage consider his work a high calling dancer (performing under the — bringing a spot of comfort in a name of “Bogey Fatty”) and will dreadful situation and providing be forever remembered for one him with a unique perspective on particular performance at AOII the pandemic.

Stunt Night in 1973. Such rare talent resulted in Jeff being elected Marty West White hosts the “Mr. Southwestern” his senior year. radio show Eclectic Ladyland on He was an international studies Ketchikan radio station KRBD. In major under his mentor Colonel February she presented “Eclectic David Likes, and the two shared Memphis” and played recordings many a scotch. After college, Jeff

by Rob Jungklas ’72, Big Star worked in the music industry as (with the late Andy Hummel a producer in Nashville and Los ’74), and Berl Olswanger, father Angeles, before settling into his of classmate Anna Olswanger, chosen vocation as a high school whose music had just been reteacher and coach. Coach Hudgins released by Big Round Records. retired from the Nashville Metro Marty also included the SUN school system in his early 60s and boys, Hi, and STAX artists spent his last few years in Memphis. (including friend Carla Thomas) He was loved by many. and, in her words, “who knows all … Memphis music eclectic at Anna Olswanger continues its finest.” Her show streams on to work as a literary agent in the first Tuesday of each month at the Metro New York area and www.KRBD.org. is always excited to be able to represent authors with a Memphis Jack Wilhelm says he is breaking connection. In 2018 she became his long-standing tradition of the agent of David Less ’74 and never sending alumni notes placed his Memphis Mayhem: A by reporting that he lives in Story of the Music That Shook Up Austin, TX, with his wife, Ann the World with ECW Press in Lindsey, and practices law with Canada. The book recently came his son Edward at the Wilhelm out and has received a number of Law Firm. After 25 years, he has starred reviews. come to tolerate “burnt orange” (one of the official colors of the Joey Riso (Bob Reynolds) is University of Texas at Austin), co-owner of the David Rohr which he says is a difficult feat Floral Studio near Palm Springs, for a native Arkansan. Ann is CA. In addition to weddings a native of New Orleans, and and birthdays and the sort of they maintain a small home and corporate events that are more or spend a fair amount of time in less extinct these days, his studio the Crescent City (Jack admits is the florist for the Eisenhower to having a pretty good time Medical Center (the home of the when there). Because he and his Betty Ford Center), where they son work in a stand-alone office deliver floral gifts daily to patients building and the family lives in the COVID ward. They are in a less densely populated part also the florist for Forest Lawn of Austin, they have survived in the Coachella Valley, the the pandemic in good fashion, prestigious funeral home chosen though they do miss overseas

traveling. Having previously lived five winters in Chicago where he practiced law, Jack was well-prepared for the recent Texas “snowmageddon.”

In looking back at his years at Rhodes, he says his classes with professors Milton Brown and Bob Llewellyn taught him honesty and integrity, traits he feels are important for lawyers. He adds that he will probably never retire, abiding by the well-worn adage, “Old lawyers never die, they just lose their appeal.” Jack sends regards to all.

1976

45th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTERS Julie Allen Berger jab0539@gmail.com Georgia Atkins atkins.georgia@gmail.com Georgia McGehee Atkins shares this timely story: “Recently seven members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) came to my house for a vaccination effort for people with disabilities. They vaccinated my son, who has a disability, along with 24 other people, including others with disabilities, their family, and staff members. The story started when I learned that the LASD had an outreach program to vaccinate people who have disabilities in their homes. Spearheading the effort was Elizabeth Espinosa, executive director of communications for LASD. Elizabeth, who has a brother who has a disability, is a former TV news reporter with two Emmys. I asked Elizabeth if it would be okay to see if I could get a few more people to come to my house. I have a back patio with an outside entrance; the setting was perfect for the situation. With 24 hours prior to the time LASD planned to come, I made a few calls. In the end, 24 people came through my calls or word of mouth. Elizabeth herself

came and brought other LASD staff with her, including the chief of special operations, medics who staff the LASD helicopters and handle emergency situations, and two other deputies to do administration, registering people and giving out the shot records. My son enjoyed the attention of Elizabeth, who is attractive even behind her mask, and nice. Sue, a woman medic, was designated to give him his one-anddone Johnson & Johnson vaccine. My son couldn’t have been happier with Elizabeth and Sue on either side of him when he got his shot. He was all smiles!! The sheriffs did a wonderful job organizing the group. They vaccinated people in their cars as they were parked in my driveway and others as they walked in the gate. They were incredibly accommodating, waiting for 30 minutes with some in line to be vaccinated. They did what it took to get the job done. It was an amazing day with a 100 percent success rate.”

Georgia M. Atkins ’76 in black beside her son, at the vaccination event.

Karen Barclay has retired from 37 years of teaching subjects ranging from sociology to theater. With a master of fine arts from MSU, she is now working as a full-time professional artist.

Elizabeth “Bizza” Nelson Britton is currently working with the Louisiana Department of Health as their clinical lead for the Elimination of Hepatitis C in the Incarcerated Population. As a nurse practitioner, she has specialized in hepatology for the past 20 years and is thrilled to take on this five-year project, with the unique “Prescription Model” of access to expensive medication, that Louisiana hopes will be a model for the rest of the country.

Frank and Gail Hartmann Brown moved to McLean, VA, last July to help out with their first grandchild, a daughter born to their daughter and her husband who live two miles away.

Gail retired in the fall of 2019, and Frank is continuing to work remotely with his Atlanta law firm from their new home in Virginia. They report 7-month-old Natalie is a delight.

“We love living nearer to our daughter and her family, and our son and his wife who live in Brooklyn, NY. Hope to see you at our next reunion fall 2021!”

Cindy Hickman Feltus writes: “So the pandemic coupled with historic winter weather makes this a perfect time for some Rhodes notes. About this time last year there was an energetic rekindling of contacts among some Chi Omega sisters. The plan was to meet in Asheville, NC. And the idea really took off. With the advent of COVID, the plan slowly unraveled, but some of the communication continued. Here’s hoping the opportunity will come again. I think I’ve finally realized my purpose in life — being a grandmother has been the best! Filtering the wonder through 3- and 6-year-old eyes keeps me creative and allows me to see the world with great imagination. I continue to be an old-school letterpress printer. Set up shop in my garage with two ginormous presses and some cabinets of wood and metal type.

While the world advances, I’m steadily printing upside-down and backwards and dreaming about my next fly fishing trip.”

From Arden Ritter McElroy: “Since we have been home-bound for months, we didn’t get to travel last year but hope to head to Sallie Clark’s in Colorado in July! Until then, we have to live vicariously through our past travels. Here we are (below) on our 60th birthday trip. We all met in Venice and took a Silversea cruise down the Dalmatian coast. As we took the tender over to Croatia, a woman from the couple behind us leaned up and said, ‘You all are having such a great time

53

but why did you leave your husbands back on the ship?’ We just laughed and said we didn’t leave them on the ship — we left them at home! We had a blast.

Four of us stayed over, rented a villa in Tuscany, and traveled around too.”

Celebrating #60: bottom from left: Sallie Clark, Cindy Montgomery, Debbie Williams, Arden McElroy; top from left: Jeanette Sims and Mary Ann Sutherland.

After 30 years as a practicing attorney, most spent at Baker Donelson, Anne Mathes became executive director of the Community Legal Center in 2015.

This nonprofit legal aid organization provides general civil and immigration help to lower-income Memphians. Anne says leading the group was “the most difficult — and most satisfying — thing I’ve done as an attorney.” Anne will retire later this spring to spend time with her husband, Joel Reisman, (hopefully doing some traveling!) and their two-year-old grandson.

1977

REPORTERS Jill Fuzy Helmer jillhelmer25@gmail.com Bonnie Moore McNeely bonniemcneely2@gmail.com Reporters’ Note: In updating our class records, many of you have old emails on file which bounced back and even worse, we have no email addresses for many. If you’ve changed your email address within the last year or two (or longer perhaps) please shoot us an email with your correct address! If you did not receive an email from jillhelmer25@gmail.com in mid-February requesting “Class of ’77 News” (check your spam folder) then we need an updated address. I’d hate for you to miss out on anything important, non-important, mind-boggling, or even humorous. Please notify one of us. Our addresses are above.

Ann Abernathy sends news from Oregon that she has loved living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest for the past 27 years. She is retired from working in downtown revitalization — a career she enjoyed and one she proudly reflects on when looking back to

54

her days in Memphis as the project coordinator for the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. Ann lives in Portland with her husband, Bill, of 25 years.

Staying close to our alma mater, Barbara Ashcroft had a career at CBC (Christian Brothers College, in case you forgot) as director of career planning, and then later as a human resource analysis specialist at FedEx. Apparently, retirement is not in Barbara’s immediate future — she’s just gettin’ goin’. She is currently managing the family business, a small publishing company printing books on educating teachers on how to instruct the visually impaired in braille. Writing and publishing being in her DNA, Barbara has just finished a digital book for occupational therapists and rehab nurses and others with MS. Available on the Apple bookstore, it’s titled Whatever It Takes: Solutions. With the help of Bill Hulsey she just recently filed for two patents and hopes to get one of her inventions manufactured and on the market! Living in Germantown, TN, Barbara enjoys getting together with other ’77 classmates Gail Cook Akey, Edward McDonnell, Lue Jernigan Taff, and Celeste Jones Bursi.

No surprises here. Marynell Branch kept rocking since receiving the last bachelor of music degree offered by Rhodes. At one point she not only worked for her Hope, AR, high school classmate Governor Mike Huckabee, but she joined his rock-and-roll band, Capitol Offense, playing keyboard. Traveling all over the U.S. performing rock, country, and R&B classics at Red Rocks Amphitheater in CO, House of Blues in New Orleans, Disneyland, Disney World, various blues festivals and both of President G.W. Bush inaugurations, she feels sure Professor Charles Mosby ’51 would be proud. Five years ago, she retired but unlike Nancy Reagan, she doesn’t know when to say “no.” Volunteer opportunities arise and she just says “yes.” Marynell serves on many committees leaving little time for real retirement. Living in Hot Springs Village, AR, with her husband, Bill, she has taken up golf and still tickles the ivories hoping that one day the Village will hold an “All Sing” competition. Being a loyal Arkansan, Hot Springs Village has featured her in their promotional material. See ExploretheVillage. com. This could be Marynell’s stepping stone to the big screen!

Celeste Jones Bursi had an amazing 2020! She retired from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis (still works remotely for them part-time), welcomed the arrival of a new

grandbaby, moved from Memphis to Jacksonville, FL, and to top it off she tracked down her biological family (she was adopted) through DNA matching. Celeste met her half-brother, Tony Johnson, who’s led an extraordinary life and has authored a book on his Vietnam experience, as well as several other books. She would love for you to check out AnthonyHJohnson.com. In the meantime, Celeste has turned her favorite hobby of butterfly framing into a business and plans to get it established once she gets that new backyard cleared out.

Jill Fuzy Helmer: “Imagine my surprise when college roommate Marynell Branch wrote the alumni office volunteering me as class reporter. Since Bonnie Moore McNeely originally put the bee in my bonnet at our 40th reunion, I engaged her as co-chair. Graduating from Rhodes with a social(izing) degree made choosing a career challenging. Joining the circus was out. Eventually, I channeled my creativity into a career of floral design and events. However, over the last 15 years I focused on co-authoring, publishing, and promoting three coffee table books (check me out at EvergreenDecorators.com). In 2018 after 40 great years in Atlanta, GA, my husband, John, and I decided we wanted to raise our mini goldendoodle Winnie in a small town. We packed up and moved to Highlands, NC. After a year-long house renovation, we three have finally settled and have loved living in a four-traffic-light town. With a population of 1,024 in the winter and swelling to 18,000 in the summer, it offers a lot of culture, a strong sense of community, all four seasons, great hiking, lots of bears, and lots of rain and fog! Love it all. Most recently I have been volunteering at our COVID-19 vaccination call center and clinics. In seven weeks, we’ve vaccinated more than 4,200 people and are doing a tremendous job reaching the homebound, rural, and Latin communities.”

Walt and Annie Stein McCanless have been living and working in Charlotte, NC, for more than 25 years. Walt has been senior pastor at historic Providence Presbyterian Church, founded in 1767 with the sanctuary constructed in 1859. Writes Annie, “It has electricity, but the internet services have been an exciting challenge.” Annie retired last June with 30 years as a high school government teacher and was proud to be a student council adviser for 15 years. In the meantime, retirement is on the horizon for Walt when he hopes to have some sabbatical fun — perhaps even publishing his poetry or sermons. They have four fantastic children who over the years have occupied their time, finances, and hearts. Two grandchildren and another upcoming family wedding have kept them busy this past year. Thoughts are that Louisville, KY, will see a lot more of them with two of their daughters living there (maybe Bonnie Moore McNeely can plan a “see Kentucky” trip for them!). Annie adds, “Wrap your head around Walt the Florida boy living in the Midwest!? Looks like we will have to start an alumni chapter!” (However, this reporter feels Walt can claim Kentucky as the South.)

Edward McDonnell retired from Southern Company (Atlanta) in 2000 and three years later moved to Madison, MS, a suburb of his hometown, Jackson. In the intervening years he has enjoyed several volunteer jobs: seven years at a local food bank, a docent for the Mississippi State Capitol, and a volunteer at two Mississippi museums (Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum). Occasionally, he picks up temporary jobs, the latest serving as an enumerator recruiter for the 2020 US Census. Trying his hand at farming, Edward’s success has been limited to growing a new variety of fiery chilis in his special pepper-growing pot on his patio! When chilis are out of season he gets pleasure from having something

blooming in his yard year ’round.

Socially, he enjoys staying connected with his old Jackson pals from his youth, with his Mississippi family, and just like Barbara Ashcroft he enjoys keeping up with several Southwestern classmates spread across other states — Gail Cook Akey, Barbara Ashcroft, Celeste Jones Bursi, and Lue Jernigan Taff. “My career in corporate advertising was interesting but retirement is positively great!”

Living in Roswell, GA, Bonnie Moore McNeely says years as an empty-nester have kept her traversing the continent and crossing oceans. She has followed her daughter, Elizabeth McNeely ’16, on school and work adventures to Oxford, England, for Rhodes’ British Studies session, to Paris for her semester abroad, and regular stops in New Orleans, Memphis, and Washington, DC. Bonnie and husband, Dennis, have also enjoyed work trips together to the sunny West Coast, Miami Beach, and Grand Cayman. The friendships formed during the Rhodes years remain strong and have led to other travel opportunities. Annually she travels to the San Francisco Bay area to visit Ingrid Ortiz Chilton ’75, Patty Adams ’76, and Paul Ainger (where rumor has it wine tasting trips to Napa or Sonoma are always included). Another Rhodes group Bonnie has reunions with is a Voorhies/Tri Delta/GDI group. In mid-March 2020, Bonnie and classmates Shari Carter Greene and Melanie Hart Riley embarked on a couples’ trip to Kentucky not realizing they were on the edge of the pandemic shutdown. First stop — bourbon tasting in Danville, KY, at the home of classmate Dot Neale and her husband Doug Ferris. Fueled by bourbon optimism, they opted to continue their weekend to Shaker Village and the famous distilleries and scenic horse farms. Good friends, excellent bourbon, and a tour of Ashford Coolmore Farms (where Triple Crown winner American Pharoah posed for pics) provided them with special

55

memories during the subsequent COVID lockdown.

Since March they have all had to travel and visit virtually via Zoom, but Bonnie looks forward to more reunions and trips later in 2021-2022 (including the delayed trip to Italy). In the meantime, Bonnie will be receiving the Rhodes alumni award for the person who’s stayed in touch with the most classmates!

Katherine Bullard Melhorn must have heard the words, “Go West, young woman.” She reports that after a 25-year career in Little Rock, AR, she retired and moved to captivating Santa Fe, NM. Katherine and Roger Said ’78 recently completed a beautiful custom home and are having a wonderful time surrounded by sunshine, juniper, and piñons. (No word yet on whether there’s a “drop-in” policy for visiting classmates.)

Dot Neale writes from Danville, KY, that she is enjoying retirement after 35 challenging and fulfilling years at IBM (not sure if she received a gold watch). Retirement has allowed her family to spend more time at their cottage in Monteagle, TN, as well as providing a place to entertain friends. Prior to COVID she entertained classmates Lyn Burdette Johnson, Janie Ranson Little, Robin Mattis Mara, Bonnie Moore McNeely, Melanie Hart Riley, Kitty Nichols Sears, and Annette Troxell Collins for a weekend of fall hiking (below).

Pictured here: 1977 classmates after a weekend of catching up and hiking in Monteagle, TN, October 2019. Front row: Annette Troxell Collins, Kitty Nichols Sears, Janie Ranson Little, Lyn Burdette Johnson. Back row: Robin Mattis Mara, Bonnie Moore McNeely, Melanie Hart Riley, Dot Neale

56

Michael Pearigen reports from Nashville that he’s been enjoying five years of retirement from practicing environmental law but still does some consulting. Prepandemic, he loved traveling but now spends his free time collecting antique Tennessee maps — 31 of which are framed and hung in his house. Nine or so of these include the rare “‘Lost State of Franklin’ map which was an area in upper East Tennessee that existed in 1784-1788 and had attempted to gain statehood but was turned down.” Several other rare maps in his collection show “The Territory South of the River Ohio,” or Tennessee before it became a state.

(Has he missed his calling teaching state geography?)

Michael has remained in touch with other fellow Nashvillian alumni Ruth Foster Arnold, Susie Click Mattson, Tom Baker ’78, and John Edmunds ’76

Bob Rogers writes that after becoming disabled from HIV he’d finally crossed that 65-year mark of retirement. However, retiring was not in the picture for Bob once he met 80-year-old fellow church congregant, John. Opening his home to John over 14 years ago, he has become his sole caregiver for the past eight. Taking care of one with Alzheimer’s and wheelchair dependence has been rewarding and so totally different from the 30 years he spent as a corporate accountant. Prior to the pandemic, Bob feels he was already well prepared for the isolation of quarantining and for limited trips to public sites. Times are tough and Bob regrets he cannot financially support Rhodes in the way he’d like to.

Retirement-loving Nell Sistrunk Schwartz and her husband, Jon, have lived in the sweet town of Sugar Land, TX, for the past 30 years. As a clinical child psychologist, Nell worked in various Houston-area hospitals and agencies as well as being in private practice. Prior to retirement two years ago, her last position was with Houston’s Shriners Hospital for Children where she developed and implemented their pediatric psychology services. Jon is a director of clinical research at Nanospectra Biosciences where he is involved in clinical trials of nanoparticlebased treatment for prostate cancer. He has enjoyed collaborating with Blair Shamel ’75, who serves on Nanospectra’s board. Retirement has allowed Nell more time to volunteer at their local food pantry, work with educational outreach programs of Houston Ballet, serve on her church’s board, and sing in the choir. If that’s not enough, she is also involved with the Texas Cattle Dog Rescue transporting the dogs and doing virtual home visits. Like most retirees, she has finally been able to read more, bake more, garden more, and spend more time with their cattle dog, Nocona. As avid travelers, Nell is hopeful they’ll soon be able to resume their wanderlust as she has her sights set on a 40th wedding anniversary trip to Greece in 2022. Could this rival their pre-COVID trip to Banff, Jasper National Parks, and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories where they witnessed the aurora borealis on full display? Could a trip to Greece encourage Nell to perfecting baklava in her own kitchen?

Sallie Stamps Swor says she’s not that interesting, but we would argue with that! Retired from a 30-year career as a school counselor, she still does college consulting, has a food blog thedeerone.com., has found time to author two cookbooks You’re Grown — Now You Can Cook and You’re Grown — Now You Can Throw a Party!, is a guest chef on the local CBS Nashville affiliate, AND lectures and teaches classes locally and at the Monteagle Assembly

every summer. Her first cookbook was written for her son who’d just moved into his first apartment — a publisher picked it up and the rest is history. “As a rule, school principals normally don’t like me — however the principal at my first teaching job ended up becoming my husband.” They have one son, an attorney, a soon-to-be daughter-inlaw, and two adored Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Cupcake and Chili Dog. (Are you surprised they’re named after food?) When Sallie’s not writing, cooking, or lecturing she can also be found teaching knitting classes or gardening with her husband at their home in the Radnor Lake preserve area, just down the street from Paul Buchanan.

Lue Jernigan Taff enjoyed two careers (information technology with the State of Arkansas and Mobil Oil and then social work with a nursing home and a nonprofit agency) before retiring with her husband in Irving, TX. Her last job as a geriatric care manager was to help the evergrowing problem of families dealing with parental care issues. Once she became eligible for all the programs at the agency, she retired, allowing her and husband, Harold, free time to hike. They especially enjoy trips with Backroads, a tour group that takes care of everything except the hike and the whipping her into shape — Camp Gladiator does that for her. She loves her travels to Tennessee and Mississippi keeping track of her Southwestern friends (by now I think we’ve all figured out those to be Gail Cook Akey, Barbara Ashcroft, Celeste Jones Bursi, and Edward McDonnell.) “Harold’s three children and the five grandchildren have added so much joy to our marriage. We have really missed seeing them during these COVID days.”

Globetrotter Woody Upchurch is back in Switzerland for almost 20 years now after working in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and New York. “Five years ago, I transitioned to coaching

CEOs across Europe, which was wonderful as it leveraged the best of me; I helped others and there was no stress! One of my clients asked me to take his place, build the valuation and sell the company, so for the past year I have been living near Zurich with my new challenge. I have a lot more stress now, but I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t fun.” (Hoping for complimentary Swiss chocolates at our next reunion.)

In 2010, Ernie Williams traded his loafers for sneakers. He left his career in banking law and headed back to Kenya where he’d lived for six years after graduation. “I started a foundation, basically doing clean water in schools and 11 years later, I’m a teacher and curriculum designer.

We helped design the ‘Kenya Competency Based Curriculum.’

Our goal is to teach life skills to children and assist in developing social enterprise through critical thinking.” Check out his website www.Innov8Africa.org to see the difference Ernie is making in Kenya, and to catch a few glimpses of Ernie at work.

managers and division directors. It is a lot of fun and much less hours!”

Holton Bruce Guyton announced his retirement as magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, effective January 2022. He has been a federal judge since 2003. Judge Guyton and his wife, Stephanie, have two children, Jenny Guyton McGlothin and Parker Guyton, and two grandchildren, Anna and Graham McGlothin.

Mari Travillion shares that in 2015 she retired from Memphis City Schools after 37 years of teaching art and photography. In May of 2020 she graduated from the University of Memphis with a master’s degree in social work.

Sarah Bailey Luster and husband, John, became grandparents with the December 2020 arrival of AnnePage Sparger Radford, daughter of Rebecca Luster Radford ’08 and Alex Radford. Sarah and John are still working, living, and trying to stay well in small-town Natchitoches, LA!

1978

REPORTER Mary Lee Soop msoop23@gmail.com

1979

REPORTER Mary Palmer mpalmerc@comcast.net

Chuck Cobb shares that he read and highly recommends How to Think Like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education by Rhodes English Professor Scott Newstok. He is also an active participant in ongoing arguments with Rhodes alumni about the recent U.S. presidential election: “Biden won.”

Hello! I have agreed to be our Rhodes Class of 1979 reporter. I would very much like to hear how you are doing, and share with you news of our classmates. Please consider replying with a little of where you are, what you are doing, or the strangest thing you have found yourself doing in the pandemic. Some of this looking to the past gives me hope looking to the future. I will be grateful.

David McWilliams reports: “After a 36-year career at Merrill Lynch and UBS, I retired in 2016. I lived in six US cities and on three continents — North America (US), Asia (Japan), and Australia. I started my own company, Leadership Concepts LLC, which comprises executive coaching with Wall Street managers, district

Mary Palmer (Oak Ridge, TN): “For my part of the effort, I can share that I am working “part-time” in child abuse pediatrics in East TN. Pre-COVID, I was hiking a week a month as an Appalachian Trail chaplain for two years. Since March, I

57

have painted house trim inside and out and so much more, planted so many native plants, and watched more TV than the last 30 years all together. There is much fear and frustration around — and much hope and resiliency. I am rooting for the latter.”

Jamie Curtis: “I am a happy grandmother to a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old, am called ‘Ace’ by the older one, and they live with their parents about a mile away from me in Chattanooga.

I am working as a Crye-Leike Realtor, which has gone nuts with the pandemic, and I am still involved in live sound production for events, which are totally shut down for the pandemic. I am fortunate to be involved with two local nonprofits that award college scholarships to music students, the Chattanooga Music Club and the Christ Church Music Scholarship.

The Chattanooga Area Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi elected me as president just in time for no gatherings allowed.

Overall, the strangest thing about quarantine is that I like it. I do miss singing, but I love all the extra sleeping.

I keep up with Billy Kennedy and Becca Saunders, who live in Watauga County, NC, high in the mountains along the TN border near Boone. He’s been a county commissioner for several terms.

Of my high school classmates who went to Rhodes with us: Darrington Russell Crane and I see each other more often. I have a slew of Chattanooga friends who went to Rhodes; it’s an interesting thing to have in common. And I stay in touch with my voice professor, Diane Clark ’62, who is in Michigan now. Several of her Rhodes’ students sing in Chattanooga area choirs, one is quite almost famous, we’re lucky to have him here, James Harr ’96.”

58

Laurie Lynn Tinnell (in Asheville! Sarasota for the winter): “I’m playing more than working — hiking, biking, tennis, camping, and paddle boarding — three days a week working as investment advisor and CFP for Moseley Investment Management and teaching a little tennis as well.

During COVID, I’ve not done any house chores like I should have — just playing outside more! My favorite COVID series is Suits!! So good!”

Patty Kittle Keith (Charlotte, NC): “Hello! My husband, Mark, and I live in Charlotte, where I am the lower and intermediate divisions head at The Fletcher School. Our children and their spouses also live here. We enjoy spending time with our grandsons, organic gardening, and hiking.

I look forward to hearing what others are up to.”

Ray Gilmer (Falls Church, VA): “I transferred to the University of Central Florida in my junior year, so I didn’t graduate with the ’79 cohort, but I kept up with several classmates, particularly my Sigma Nu chapter brothers.

I haven’t visited the Rhodes campus in many years, but have been thinking about resuming some travel, and making a stop in Memphis, once the pandemic is fully over. After getting my master’s at Boston University, it’s been a circuitous career and location experience, including TV news, a PR firm, and lobbying. My wife and I live in Falls Church, VA, just outside Washington. For the past six years, I’ve run communications and marketing for Montgomery College, a community college in Rockville, MD. It’s a very diverse campus, as you might expect in the DC metro, which makes the college mission challenging and rewarding at the same time. Most of our students are in need of

support and assistance, and there is genuine satisfaction in our work and personal contributions to their futures. I still learn something every day, even though my daily routine involves multiple Zoom meetings. My wife is a pastor at a Methodist church in McLean. We have two grown healthy and happy kids who live nearby.”

Catherine Caldwell Eagles (Greensboro, NC): “I can report that I am still working as a judge in the Middle District of North Carolina. We are facing lots of challenges from the pandemic, but it is also providing opportunities to explore how we can more efficiently and economically provide access to justice through technology. My husband, Bill, and I have been married for 37 years and we have two adult sons.”

Elaine Toulon Carroll (College Park, GA): “Where to start to narrate my life since the 40 years I graduated?? I have two beautiful daughters and five awesome grandchildren (ages 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6). After graduation, I started teaching biology in the school from which I graduated, Woodward Academy. Over the years I moved into different positions in the Upper School (biology instructor, dean of students, and academic dean and registrar). Five years ago, I moved down to the Lower School (grades 4 - 6) of the same school as the assistant principal. I’m loving this life!!! No pressure to get them into Harvard, Princeton, ... or Rhodes :). Since March, I have gotten several projects around the house completed. The biggest job was to ‘reclaim’ my front yard from years (and years) of neglect. Hate to say that it took a pandemic to get that job done. I’ve done lots of crochet and reading along the way.”

Eddie Batey (Memphis, TN): “I continue to be a school counselor

at Memphis University School and deeply appreciate my students and colleagues.”

Regina Morrison Newman (Memphis, TN): “I was elected Shelby County trustee two years ago. This is my second stint as county trustee, having served as interim trustee for a year in 2009-2010. My office has been making progress with technology and new projects despite COVID — or because of it. COVID has been a challenge but we have reworked our garden and landscaping at home, and I have spent countless hours on Zoom and Webex meetings as my new normal. With no events to attend during evenings or weekends, we spend a lot of time on the garden, the butterflies, and the bees, as well as cooking. Looking forward to some future day when all my staff are back in the office and social events resume!”

Mark Maurer (Olympia, WA): “I retired in May after working for the Washington State Department of Transportation for 25 years and the Thurston County Stormwater Utility for the last five years. Since then, I’ve been working on and around the house a lot, catching up on deferred maintenance. My gutters and roof are clean and ready for the winter rain! Usually I’m doing that when it’s raining in the fall. A new raised bed is planted with fall vegetables and the garage is slowly being cleaned out (it was being used as a storage space for items we took in when we cleaned out my parents’ house). On the fun side, we got a new camper in March, just in time to use it to get out of the house safely during the pandemic. I live in Olympia, WA, where we’ve lived since 1993. Please note my new email address: larchitect@mailbox.org.”

Angie Kinnaird Linn (Lakewood, CO): “I can’t say that during this crazy time we’ve been doing anything strange or particularly interesting, but my husband, Kurt, and I are fairly hunkered down in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver. I have been pretty much

focused on gardening, one of my great pleasures. And I have become much more fascinated by the birds in my landscape. They have become more active since our 15-year-old cat died in late April. I am actively involved on the board of our voluntary neighborhood homeowners association and a year ago directed the effort to rename one of our parks after our late neighbor, James Harrison, who was a Tuskegee Airman, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, a United Airlines pilot and instructor, and heavily involved in our community. This tribute to him and his family was one of the best moments of my life, as he was so deserving. I hope that all of our colleagues are doing well during these challenging times.”

Andy and Betsy Berryman Shenk (New Zealand): “We came back to New Zealand in 2013 after stints in San Francisco and Amsterdam. Although it’s hard to have family in other parts of the world, we are happy to be here again. Andy is currently the CEO of Auckland UniServices, a company that is the commercialization arm of the University of Auckland dealing with research, IP, and such. I have been happily retired from outside work for a while now. We had planned to spend more time in SF this year with our son, his wife, and our first grandchild, but things haven’t quite worked out as we would have liked. Meanwhile, we spend our free time on our sailboat exploring the beautiful waters down here. Andy’s active with the Classic Yacht Trust and regularly races on one of the old wooden boats. The garden is getting a revamp and summer is coming! Cheers!”

James McDonald (Fairfax, VA): “How good to hear from you! Caroline and I are still living in Northern Virginia.

I work as the lead for information security governance at Guidehouse, Inc., a federal and commercial consulting company. Caroline is working as an art teacher in a preschool co-op, although this is difficult in the time of COVID. I am able to work from home full-time, since we are a cloud-based company. Our children

are grown and gone. William and his family live in Seattle, where he works for Amazon. He and Megan have given us a delightful grandson, Elliot. Elliot’s baby brother is expected in October, and we are trying to figure out how and when we will be able to get out there to give him a squeeze. Our daughter Elizabeth is living in Columbia, SC, and we expect her to (finally) be married within the next year. We are not ready to retire, but we are ready to get out of Virginia. Maybe to Carolina, maybe to the Pacific Northwest — we’re just not sure yet. Caroline has another year or so before she is ready to brush off the glitter, and I can work from anywhere, so who knows?”

Bruce Stevens (Austin, TX): “I am in Austin. Retired from corporate finance in 2015. My cancer journey started in July 2019 and culminated in major surgery in May 2020 during the global pandemic at a hospital three hours away with a “No Visitors” policy in place.

Seven nights in the hospital. Immense admiration and appreciation for all health care workers now. Declared cancer-free after surgery, but with something to monitor for the rest of my life. Recovery going very well. My wife, Rae, is the brave one. She said, “I do” six weeks before surgery while social distancing in our backyard. We live a happy life with our two dogs. We accept the science of the virus. Please wear a mask, everyone.”

1980

40th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021 REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’80 reporter, please contact alumni@ rhodes.edu.

1981

40th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021

59

REPORTER Sherri Godi Madden rhodesalum81@gmail.com 1982

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’82 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

1983

REPORTER Ted de Villafranca edevillafranca@gmail.com Ted de Villafranca wonders, “When did we become the class that’s turning 60 (some of us seeing 61 this year, some of us still holding onto our 50s — you know who you are!)? After retiring from the Peddie School as dean I have been working with a close friend, the former director of admission at Princeton, building up Edvice Princeton, an international educational consultancy focusing on boarding school and college advising. It has been so professionally rewarding getting to know the educational systems for so many different countries. I’ve worked with kids from Iceland to South Africa to Brazil and China, so Zoom was already something familiar to me — good thing, too, as this year has confirmed! While I love the work I do (teenagers keep you on your toes, and this year has really challenged them!), I am ready for some travel adventures again — and soon. I hope everyone is getting vaccinated! Stay safe and masked!”

Brian Sanders writes: “Like everyone else, COVID locked us down last year — especially being in Florida with two 91-year-olds in the house (Susan’s parents).

We have been very careful, and thankfully, everyone has stayed

60

healthy. With vaccines now onboard, we just flew out to Arizona to spend some longawaited time with our first grandchild, Isaac, who is now one.

A future Rhodes student in the making!”

Trice Gibbons notes: “I currently serve as audience development editor for the Christian Century magazine (christiancentury.org). The magazine is based in Chicago, but I work from my home in Nashville. Once the pandemic subsides, I will resume the frequent trips to Chicago which I have missed terribly. I look forward to gathering with family in Memphis this May when my niece, Ashby Glover ’21, graduates from Rhodes before she heads to the University of Montana. Ashby, who is majoring in history with a minor in computer science, is going to continue work on a documentary about the 1918 influenza pandemic in Montana, one of the hardest hit states in the U.S. She started on Dr. Dee Garceau’s Dance River Productions project through a Fall 2020 internship that resulted from a Rhodes public history course. Dr. Garceau taught history at Rhodes and is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Montana in Missoula.”

Rush Waller shared that he is a professor of pediatrics with the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis. He is an interventional pediatric cardiologist who is also boardcertified in Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD). He is the director of the ACHD program with the Le Bonheur Heart Institute; the program is one of only 40 accredited programs in the United States. One of his sons, Benjamin R. Waller, IV ’11 (married to Rachel Smith

’13), was instrumental in helping to rebuild the Epsilon Sigma chapter of Sigma Nu during his college days. “Benjamin and his brother, Wilson, both currently live in California working for different start-up companies. Our daughter-in-law, Rachel, is a data analyst for Square. My wife, Clara Gwen, and I spend time traveling and fly fishing both in Arkansas and out west whenever possible, and I golf whenever I can!”

John Nisbet and Sidonie Sansom ’82 sent news: “At the 2017 reunion, September Eason and I were in the Red and Black tent. Big, tall Jim Massey was talking to someone and when he moved aside and the view cleared (much like Moses and the Red Sea), there stood one Margaret Sidonie Sansom ’82. I put out my hand and said (in my best-practiced fraternity boy act), ‘I’m John Nisbet. Don’t I know you?’ We started talking that day and danced the night away to the Generics at the new pub and we haven’t stopped talking since (it’s been hard to find a dance place). Sidonie lived in Oakland and was head of security for the Grand Central Station of the West in downtown San Francisco (TJPA). I visited her frequently (and why not? Cookeville, TN, isn’t exactly a hot vacation spot). We were engaged in May 2018 and married on October 27, 2018, on the beach in Fort Morgan, AL. Sidonie retired in March last year and moved to Cookeville. COVID-19 quickly forced my mother from assisted living into the other half of our duplex. She adapted amazingly well to quarantining. In early March, Sidonie and I enjoyed a delayed honeymoon on the Gulf, the same place where we were married in 2018. In August we brought a house and moved in October after converting an

outbuilding into my mom’s Covid Cottage. I am still practicing law in Livingston, and Ladiga Oil and Gas is operating at a reduced capacity as we work through 2020’s economic collapse. Most importantly, our family is healthy. Sarah is a publicist with Vintage/Anchor Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Matthew is in Chicago and has successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation in chemistry from Northwestern and will start his work career with Pfizer in Groton, CT. Will and Hill purchased a new home in the Chantilly neighborhood of Charlotte and have been working from home since returning from Japan.”

Terry and Julee Carroll Bate shared: “It has been a decade or two since we sent in an update on our various life activities so for those of you who don’t keep up with us on Tik Tok and Snapchat, here we go! Having turned 60 in September, Terry is not showing any signs of slowing down! On the career level, I exited the business that I started three and a half years ago and jumped headlong into the world of the nonprofit!

I accepted the position of director of relational ministry at the Littleton affiliate of Love INC. We provide a variety of services to the community and my key area of responsibility is helping people transform their lives through life coaching, life skills classes, and a lot of prayer! I have never had the opportunity to align my values with my vocation in such a specific way and love the sense of purpose and coming alongside people to effect positive change in their lives.

Truly inspires me! On a recreational level, I enjoy all kinds of crafts especially woodworking. Who would have guessed!??! I love to collect deadwood and driftwood and turn them into fun creations. Next up in terms of hobbies is learning to shape bonsai trees — can’t wait!

Juls has been very busy over the last few years serving her community in a number of meaningful ways.

These include as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) to

abused and neglected children as a foster parent and as a VA (Victim’s Advocate) responding on-scene during the midnight shift in situations where there are victims of a crime.

Recently she decided to launch her own business, Student Life Coaching.

Her goal is to help students find their purpose in life and establish goals to accomplish their dreams.

Julee and I celebrated our 35th anniversary last March on an island off the coast of Belize and had time to reflect on how blessed we have been. We remembered sitting in the auditorium of Frazier Jelke during freshman orientation in the Fall of 1979 and Bo Scarborough shared that the Dean of Students office had recently run the data on how many Southwestern students were going to marry someone in their own class.

He informed us that there was a 10 percent chance that we were sitting in the same room with our future spouse. There were a lot of disbelieving chuckles and dismissive looks, but I am so glad that Juls and I contributed to that statistic! Our two sons are thriving.

Brandon is 28 and lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is securing his graduate degree in counseling at Trinity Western University. Our younger son, Boomer, is 25, lives in Denver and married the most amazing woman, Sarah, a year and a half ago. Boomer owns his own wedding videography company, Multiply Media, and business is booming! We continue to enjoy travel and lots of outdoor adventures. Some of our favorite trips over the last couple of years are visiting family in Scottsdale, Vancouver, Victoria, and Hornby Island. We get away to our home in the Rocky Mountains as often as possible. Hiking, kayaking, and ATVing are some of our favorite recreational activities. We look forward to seeing our classmates at an upcoming reunion. Can our 40th only be two years away?!?!?

Reporter’s Note: Now that we have the ball rolling here with interesting updates, next issue we need to hear from many more of our classmates!

1984

REPORTER Linda Odom linda.odom@klgates.com Hello everyone! Hope you all are doing well.

Susan Gamble Crowell writes, “We are doing well here in Tennessee caring for elderly parents, managing the family farm, doing some conservation advocacy work, and are anxiously ready to start seeing friends again! Larry and I have enjoyed a couple of Slingshot COVID-safe trips over the past few months and are looking forward to returning to additional travel soon. This spring we will celebrate with Sam ’19 his master’s in economics at Vanderbilt and with Mary ’17 her JD at George Washington Law in DC. It will be a fun spring! Hope you are well and we look forward to seeing all again soon.”

Paul Fromberg has been very productive during the pandemic, reporting, “I have a new book from Church Publishing titled The Art of Disruption: Improvisation and the Book of Common Prayer. It’s now available for purchase. This is my second book from the Episcopal Church’s publishing house; the first is titled The Art of Transformation: Three Things Churches Do that Changes Everything.

Sara Franks writes, “I am happy to be in Washington, DC, where I’ve lived since graduating from Rhodes except for a recent five years in Santa Fe. I was a publicist until I went back to school (swore I’d never do that!) for my MSW in 2006. I’ve found pandemic conversion to teletherapy has offered more pros and possibilities for connection with clients than I’d ever have thought. My husband, Mike, an economics professor at George Washington University, and I met bike riding in DC 30 years ago, but postpandemic we’re gonna need training wheels and a vaccine mixed with stamina.”

61

Bita Esmaeli reports that she still lives in Houston working as an oncologic ophthalmic surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She notes that 2020 was a year marked by profound loss for so many and she lost her beloved partner, Mark Hutchinson, in March of 2020. She writes, “The pandemic deprived us of many things, but lack of travel also meant more time to work on hobbies. I’m a better soprano now and my paintings have more depth and are evolving (as am I). My next big trip is to Antarctica in January 2022; praying that the pandemic will not to get in the way.”

Hans-Günther Rätzke writes, “Hallo aus Deutschland. I spent 1983 and 1984 at Rhodes as an exchange student from the University of Tübingen. I have worked in the financial business in my last professional years and will be retiring in October. Almost daily I attend fitness courses in a studio here in Pinneberg and, since the coronavirus, I train according to videos of Leslie Sansone in combination with gymnastics to stay fit. As I traveled more or less extensively during the last three or four decades (mainly Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Cuba), I make notes of my various photos, digitalize them partly, and make photo books. I still hope to make a few more voyages (i.e. Australia, Patagonia, or Costa Rica) if the coronavirus crisis will be overcome. I still read literature and after so many years I am still in contact with French Professor Jim Vest, who now lives with his wife in the boonies in the Western part of NC.”

62

Barbara Hackett Etheridge reports, “During the pandemic, I became a first-time grandmother. Journee Rose Etheridge, born August 6, is the light of our lives! After 19 years,

I left my job at Comprehensive Pharmacy Services last August. I’m still undecided as to whether I will return to the workforce. As a choral singer, and with live, in-person choral singing being frowned upon during the pandemic, I participated in several virtual choir projects, singing Beethoven and Handel, Queen, and the Beach Boys, and even some original choral works. I took up acrylic paint pouring. I was also active in some political campaigns last fall. I hope to get to see my sister in St. Louis this summer. I’m planning a trip to Canyonlands National Park in August, coinciding with the Perseid Meteor Shower, and to Taos, NM, in October.”

Elizabeth Sheppard Hurley received a pandemic promotion to chief advancement officer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She now oversees all fundraising, marketing, and communications activity for the 70-year-old opera company including responsibility for all earned and contributed revenue. Lyric is cautiously optimistic that it will be able to resume live and in-person performances in the fall. Elizabeth and her husband, Mark Hurley ’82, have been riding out quarantine at their home in Chicago and look forward to celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in June. Elizabeth is also proud to serve on the board of trustees at Rhodes.”

From Chris Kirby: “After 15 years at the helm of my professional development coaching/consulting company, in late 2019 I handed the CEO reins to my business partner. I remain with the company and am very active coaching attorneys and other professionals — including in the area of ‘bridging the diversity divide’ where BridgeField Group’s international

reputation in this area made our 2020 extremely busy in the wake of the George Floyd tragedy. Despite the more-thanfulltime job with BridgeField Group, I was also lured back into active law practice a few years ago and now spend a lot of time advising and serving clients beneath the ‘Honest Lawyers’ sign in my hometown of Bastrop, TX (outside of Austin). In addition to work, I try to give back to the community as a member of the local Chamber of Commerce Board, a Republican Party precinct chair, and an active member of my local church. On the home front, my wife and I continue to enjoy homeschooling our three children (ages 17, 15, and 9) as we prepare to see our oldest (who has already written his first novel) off to college. Personally, I’m trying to overcome some nagging injuries so I can return to my lifelong passion of backpacking. While giving the highlights, make no mistake … life as I bear down on 60 has more than enough challenges but I just try to take it all, as Bill Wilson would say, ‘one day at a time.’ Whether in the neighborhood or if you just want to connect on social media, I’d love to hear from any of my Rhodes compatriots!”

Karen Manroe’s email startled this reporter: “We’ve completely blown up our Austin house and backyard!” But it continued with “remodeling like everyone else in the known universe.

We’ve been at it since early November — spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with no kitchen so we learned to make stuffing and everything else on the grill. We’re having a wedding in our backyard on 5/30, so hard deadline is looming! I hope that our classmates are as well as can be expected during these trying times.”

I also heard from Peter Rooney and Cammie Colomb, just checking in to say “hi” and to hope everyone is doing well during the pandemic!

1985

35th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’86 reporter, please contact alumni@ rhodes.edu.

REPORTER Robin Newcomb Friend robnfriend@gmail.com

From Wendy Tallent Rotter: “I’m grateful to have made it to 2021, navigating the fear and stresses of life and work during the pandemic. How have I coped? Reading great fiction, visualization of better times ahead, and exercise outside with friends even when it’s freezing — I have to do something to get the COVID-19 pounds off! Silver linings? More time with my now adult children who have drifted in and out of our house at times. Being in touch with a handful of our classmates. All of you are precious to me, and I can’t wait to celebrate 1987 with you in 2022 — that’s next year!”

Brad Broadaway shares that his wife, Mary Broadaway, became a circuit judge for a six-county area in Northeast Arkansas, as of January 1, 2021. Their daughter, Lily, will be attending Rhodes College in the fall of 2021.

Brad shoveled snow for the first time in 20 years.

Martha Hample “started a new craft-brewing venture, with two other operating partners, right down the street from Rhodes, called Hampline Brewing after the Hampline Bike Path that runs right past our location.

There was a great article in the Daily Memphian about it that talks specifically about how the project helped us all get through the pandemic.

We’re looking forward to hosting some Rhodes reunions and other events there!”

Mary Mannon Reeves wrote a novel during National Novel Writing Month.

It’s time to start revisions.

Peggy Wood Townsend says, “Even though I run a small art school, I have never had the time to paint but have longed to do so. The pandemic allowed me the time to start and I’ve been painting since last March.”

1986

35th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1-3, 2021

1987

REPORTER Mimi Swords Fondren mimifondren@outlook.com

Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and chief counsel of the Rules Committee Staff. She supervised a team of professionals who provide substantive and logistical support for the rulemaking process and she managed the publication of federal rules through all rulemaking stages. From 1999 to 2015, Rebecca was a litigation partner at Hollingsworth LLP in Washington, DC. She served as a law clerk to Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (retired) and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1992-1993. Prior to that, she clerked for Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Rebecca obtained her J.D. at Washington & Lee School of Law, summa cum laude, in 1991.

1989

REPORTER Julianne Johnson Paunescu jpaunescu@yahoo.com

1988

REPORTER Brooke Glover Emery brookegemery@gmail.com

After a long hiatus, the Class of 1989 is back and full of news! During the COVID pandemic, many classmates have been on the frontlines offering help and hope. And to these heroes we say, “Thank you for your service!”

Congratulations to Rebecca Anne Womeldorf, who has been named the new reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.

She will be the 17th reporter of decisions and the second woman to hold the position. The reporter of decisions prepares a syllabus or summary of the Court’s opinions for the convenience of readers. Rebecca will also be responsible for editing the opinions of the Supreme Court and supervising their printing and official publication in the United States Reports. She will oversee a staff of 10 professionals who examine each of the Court’s draft opinions.

Rebecca was previously with the administrative office of the US Courts where she was secretary of the

Karin Fielder Weaver started as staff for Hands On Nashville (HON) at the end of February 2020. She really hit the ground running on her third day when the big tornado hit, and HON jumped into action along with tens of thousands of Nashville volunteers. In the year since, HON has helped with COVID testing, moved survivors of the Christmas Day bombing, and, most recently, has been assisting Metro Public Health with administering the COVID vaccine. Her team is now in the process of developing volunteer leadership training to prepare for future disasters in their community.

Also in Nashville, Chad Schultz, vicepresident of radio & streaming, marketing at Warner Music, serves on the board of Musically Fed (https:// www.musicallyfed.org/), a nonprofit

63

that began its work with the music industry to collect unused, backstage meals to donate to community organizations comprised of at least 50 percent veterans and who focus on feeding the homeless, hungry, and food insecure. During the pandemic and the resulting cancellation of almost all live music tours, Musically Fed has shifted its focus to its own — furloughed gig workers, tour crews, venue workers, and many other industry people who have been hit hard. They have also held COVID-compliant drive-up events where boxes of food, household supplies and toiletries, and bottled water are provided to their music industry family in cities around the country like Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Austin, and Nashville. Over 180,000 meals have been served through their efforts so far.

Lynn Martin Wonders and Molly Soper Yates are both licensed mental health professionals and part of the necessary mad dash to take psychotherapy services and continuing education training online. While not a natural transition for most mental health professionals, as training has always been based on the practice of providing services in person, both found a way to make it work. Molly, who moved from Virginia to North Carolina just prior to COVID, has been able to retain her clients while acquiring new ones as she is licensed in both states. She has observed that her clients enjoy the convenience of telehealth and the comfort of being in their own environment as psychotherapy services are provided. Molly’s clients include many college students and she has helped them process the grief around missing out on in-person classes and social interactions. She also provides mental health

64

support for nurses and teachers who have had their careers and home lives heavily impacted by COVID-19. Lynn already had an active online presence as a continuing education provider for child and family therapists and the pandemic escalated that aspect of her business. For the last seven years, she has also run a large self-care support group for psychotherapists and another large support group for child and family therapists in private practice, both on Facebook. There was a huge uptick in membership and activity in both those groups as therapists worldwide turned to online communities for support. Lynn also authored two foundational chapters of a book coming out soon about play therapy via telehealth and is coeditor and author of a second book about nature play and expressive therapies coming out this year.

Several of our classmates are teachers and found themselves trying to ensure that students get a good education in less-than-ideal conditions. Susanna Smith has been teaching for 25 years, eight years as an elementary classroom teacher and the rest as an elementary reading specialist. She is so impressed by the resilience of her students who show up every day wearing masks, but ready to learn, and by her colleagues who show up every day wearing masks ready to teach. She shared her observations on what she encountered this year. When Susanna is working at a table with a group of 5-year-olds, they have to wear both face masks (over their mouths and noses) and face shields. Not only is it difficult for the little ones to keep both of these on, it makes it difficult to hear one another! And as a reading specialist, it is important for kids to see Susanna’s mouth as she is saying different sounds. She has had to purchase clear facemasks

and face shields to help teach letter sounds. In addition, it is hard for kids to talk about books when they are six feet away from each other with masks on. Susanna also decries the loss of already precious time with her students during the school day, having seen her previous 30-minute reading groups reduced to 15. While a fan of technology and Screencastify to teach her virtual students, she has noticed that many of her students, now reading so much online, are finding it difficult to turn pages in “real” books! Finally, Susanna has found it hard to not see kids playing with each other because she believes so much is learned through play with peers.

She and her husband are building a house in beautiful Floyd County, VA. Their two sons are living in Arlington, VA. David Jones is one of the senior partners at The Bone and Joint Surgery Clinic in Raleigh, NC, and the director of the Raleigh Hip Pain and Arthroscopy Center.

As true with many medical practices, his was basically reduced to only emergency procedures in Spring 2020. Given that video office visits are not the best way to practice orthopaedic surgery since it is so examination heavy, David was glad to be back to almost normal in the summer. His practice did its best to switch supply/support needs to more local suppliers to try to keep jobs in the area. Outside of private practice, David spends quite a bit of time teaching hip preservation surgery to other orthopaedic surgeons. He is involved with USSAILING where he helps care for all aspects of sports medicine in the sport of sailing. David and his family moved to Raleigh from New Orleans in 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina. He is married with two kids. His older just graduated from Clemson where she worked with the football

team, and his younger is making a go of a career in musical theater. David reports that he had a great time recently toasting Dr. Alan Jaslow during his retirement Zoom call from the biology department at Rhodes.

Two of our classmates found ways to bring smiles to many faces this year. One of Little Rock’s top real estate agents, Inez Yeiser Reeder, has done an amazing job of lifting spirits with hilarious memes on Facebook and hosting outdoor socially distanced events. He hasn’t quit his day job, but Billy Curtwright has entertained audiences gathered to hear his music.

While he acknowledged that COVID had put a dent in this side gig, he and his band had a big show on Mardi Gras day and the occasional nightclub act in a local Mobile pizza joint!

Technology allowed many of us to spend more time with our classmates and college friends than we have in decades. COVID-birthed Zoom Happy Hours and Rhodes online trivia filled our evenings. Some got closer while still taking precautions. Cary Tynes Wahlheim, Francine Harrison, and Nicole Williamson spent a long October weekend together in Highlands, NC, enjoying great hikes, fall foliage, and fireside chats,

While 2020 will always be remembered for COVID, racial strife was also traumatizing the nation. In response, Dawnita Grimes, assistant chief counsel for the Department of Homeland Security in Dallas, joined some friends from California to start the Lift Every Voice book club. Each gathering begins with a rendition of this Black National Anthem and focuses on Black writers and issues of race. It has offered an opportunity for both Black and white women from across the country to share and learn. Dawnita invited classmates Robin Meredith Kelly and Julianne Johnson Paunescu to join. Robin was so impressed with one book the group read — Biased — that she hosted a gathering of women in her hometown

of Paducah (also Dawnita’s hometown) to discuss this primer on implicit bias and the psychology behind it. At this meeting, Robin shared insights that she was convinced we all need to understand if we want to improve things in our country.

In the fall of 2020, Ann Dixon Pyle celebrated 25 years as executive director of the Arkansas Bar Foundation, a statewide not-for-profit organization with a mission to improve and facilitate the administration of justice, among other charitable purposes. She and her husband, Hoyte, live in Little Rock and have two children. Lauren, a recent graduate of Drury University, lives and works full-time in Springfield, MO. Heath is a senior in high school and will attend college in the fall.

William Golden is currently living in Okinawa, Japan, with his wife and teenage son. He works for the Department of Defense Educational Activity Sector as a middle school science and social studies teacher at Ryuku Middle School on Kadena Air Force base. He has been in Asia for 22 years, first in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years and then 20 years in Japan. He admits that Japan has spoiled him with its cuisine, safety, and access to nature and would love to help any classmates who might visit.

Clark Tomlinson traces his life’s path back to a semester abroad in Amman and Jerusalem organized by Professor Bruce Stanley during the first semester of our senior year. An International Studies major, his experiences during those months convinced him that he wanted to work in some sort of human services profession. So, after returning to Rhodes and graduating the next semester, he spent some time discerning what would interest him, landing on nurse anesthetist. Clark completed an undergraduate degree in nursing first, then attended graduate school in nurse anesthesia, with his primary clinical site at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He has been giving

anesthesia at a couple of hospitals around the Greensboro, NC, area for over 20 years and calls it a “greatly rewarding profession.” Clark is happy to talk or email with any Rhodes student who might be interested in nurse anesthesia. He and his wife married in 1999 and have a soon-to-be 16-year-old son.

Ken Cameron is currently professor and chair of the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he also serves as director of conservation biology and the Wisconsin State Herbarium. He and his husband, Brian Thompson ’80, stay busy with gardening and beekeeping on 20 acres of restored wetland and tallgrass prairie habitat.

Charles Harris is a regional manager for a multi-family management firm in Memphis. His biggest joy at this point in life “is my four grandchildren, ages 4-9!”

Colorado has been home off and on for over 20 years for Brent Carter, who currently lives in Denver and is a captain for Southwest Airlines. He also works part-time as an assistant chief pilot for the Denver Pilot base. When not working, he enjoys the outdoors and is blessed to ski and fly fish often.

Brent has two adult children, 23 and 21. His older child, Casey, graduated from Harvard University last year with a degree in physics. He is working in the DC area and awaiting pilot training in the U.S. Air Force starting in May. His daughter, Abby-Paige, or AP as she prefers, is a junior at USC in Los Angeles. She is an environmental science major and a member of AFROTC. She intends to pursue a pilot position with the Air Force as well.

After 25-plus years as a health care lawyer, most recently as General Counsel for UAB Health System, Cary Tynes Wahlheim has embarked on a new challenge. She joined Protective Life Corporation, a hundred-plusyear-old life insurance company in Birmingham as senior vice-president

65

and senior counsel. She admits, “Crazily I made this change during COVID last August!” On a family note, her oldest daughter graduates from Washington & Lee in May and is moving to Charlotte to work for Regions. Cary would love to hear from Rhodes friends living in Charlotte!

for the reader to investigate and call forth the original blueprint of one’s potential, genius, and selfemancipation. Through this awakening we can work through challenges to become our best self — the self our inner five-year-old knew we could become. His book is available for purchase at: www. theopenframesproject.org

Glen Ellis retired from Nucor Corporation after 20 years. He has been involved in commercial and residential property for the last 17 years and for the last 11 years has owned and operated two liquor stores in his hometown of Blytheville, AR. In his words, he “juggled a few things but pretty much sticks to the vice business now,” supplying alcohol and tobacco at both the wholesale and retail levels. Karen, his wife of 22 years, is director of library and audio/video for Arkansas Northeastern College and his daughter, Sarah, works as director of adult education at the college.

Glen still hunts, shoots, engineers, and builds projects in several trades in his spare time.

1990

In his third book, Lessons from My FiveYear-Old Self, Charles Holt shares personal essays on significant topics such as finding freedom from religious and cultural views, stepping to the unknown, and discovering truths about fear, faith, rage, respect, and love.

Weaving a journey from Nashville to New York, to Los Angeles and back to his Southern roots, Charles offers inspirational stories that help us move to our next level of awareness. His candid and transparent accounts of the good, bad, and seemingly awful reveal Holt’s desire to set a stage

66

30th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Marci Deshaies Woodmansee mwoodmansee@gslschool.org Amanda North Aghdami started her own consulting and coaching business, Edgehill Consulting Group, in 2018. Olivia, her oldest, is headed to UVA in the fall and her twin boys are sophomores in high school. Soon to be an empty nester!

Last year Stacy Boldrick published her first book (a monograph), Iconoclasm and the Museum (Routledge), which addresses the histories of contested objects and monuments and how museums display their fragments. “Research on the removal of the Confederate monuments in Memphis gave me a chance to visit Rhodes.

After two decades working in art museums and galleries in Scotland and England, I now teach museum studies at the University of Leicester (UK). My daughter started at the University of Cambridge this year and my son is in high school.”

After six exhilarating and challenging years as CEO/ CFO for Nashville Education, Community, and Arts Television, Trish Puryear Crist sought a better work-life balance through

a smaller job and a bigger nonprofit. Approaching the two-year mark now as assistant to the CEO at the Frist Art Museum, she is happier, healthier (40 pounds lighter), and looking forward to scheduling Rhodes events in the museum as soon as this terrible pandemic is behind us.

Stacy DeZutter lives with her 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, in Jackson, MS, where she serves as an associate professor of education and psychology at Millsaps College. Stacy also contributes to the Theatre and Peace and Justice Studies programs and is working on a book about democratic citizenship development in early childhood education.

Kevin and Sherrill Cameron Garland are leaving Houston after 27 years and moving back to Little Rock, where he is CEO of Mountaire Farms. “We are sad to leave Houston, but glad to be back with all of our family. Our youngest, Cameron, is graduating high school in May and our middle son, Charlie, is getting married in June. Our oldest, Mary Elizabeth, is enjoying life in Austin. Looking forward to seeing other updates and having a reunion at some point!”

After working inside corporate law firms in marketing and business development roles for nearly 15 years, Michael James struck out on his own in the summer of 2019. “Since then, I’ve been building my own consulting business, MJ Marketing Strategies, with a focus on the legal and professional services space. A writer and editor at heart (thanks, Rhodes English Department!), I bring a strategic communications focus to everything I do — from social media and content development to branding and messaging to

overarching strategy. I’ve lived in Chicago for the past 19 years, where I’m currently hunkered down with my veterinarian husband, Ken, along with our tripod Schnauzer-Chihuahua mix, Joey, and super fluffy cat, Robbie.”

Bill Raffety lives in Los Angeles and is the founder of Wyatt Group Global Assurance, an independent third-party audit and supply chain verification company.

Brad Shelton and his wife have been living in Los Angeles for the past 20 years (they moved there right after spending a year as guest professors at Rhodes). “We’ve got two kids — a daughter who is married and living in New Jersey, and a son who will be entering his senior year of high school in the fall. I work as a creative director for an experience design agency called BRC Imagination Arts, where I lead projects ranging from an immersive theater at the Grand Ole Opry starring Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, to the recently opened Las Vegas Raiders Allegiant Stadium Tour, to the World Food Center in the Netherlands (we’ll be relocating there for 18 months in the summer of ’22 and will have a spare bedroom, so everyone — plan your visits!). I also continue to work as a screenwriter in film and television, and have become a bit of a CrossFit junkie in my middle-aged decrepitude.”

David Tomlinson and his wife, Leslie, are still living and working in Florence, AL (“The Shoals” area). “I work as in-house legal counsel for a local company. Our oldest two children are out of college and gainfully employed (YES!). Our son graduated from Birmingham-Southern and lives in Birmingham; our daughter graduated from Auburn and lives in Atlanta. We will begin the transition to emptynesters this fall when our youngest son begins college (undecided). I may have to take up another hobby, since 15 years of kids’ soccer activities will draw to a close.”

1991

30th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Tracy Courage tracy_courage@yahoo.com 1992

REPORTER Sara Hawks Marecki saramarecki@sbcglobal.net (Reporter’s Note: The Class of ’92 submitted a group response in the style of the Breakfast Club letter!)

Dear Rhodes Magazine, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole year in isolation for the COVID-19 pandemic. But we think you’re crazy to ask us to send updates telling you what we’ve been doing during these unprecedented times. You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms. In the most convenient definitions. But what we found is that each of us: • Stopped caring what we looked like on Zoom calls.

• Found inner strength watching our classmates and others serving on the front lines.

• Creatively found ways to celebrate our 50th birthdays.

• Perfected the art of coffee making at home.

• Learned the exact sound of an Amazon package being left on the front porch.

• Watched all 15 seasons of (insert your binge-watching guilty pleasure here.)

• Wore out our favorite pair of house shoes.

• Upgraded our WiFi plans to the maximum data available.

• Mastered online grocery ordering and pick-up.

• Taught children online, at home, or in outdoor classrooms.

• Asked the question which hurts more? My joints or my liver?

• Channeled our HGTV personalities and remodeled bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.

• Discovered anti-fog lenses for our bifocals.

• Experimented with air fryers and insta-pots.

• Cherished extra time with family.

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely Yours, The Class of 1992 (Readers, please imagine “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds playing in the background.)

1993

REPORTER Wendy Mullins wendy.mullins@yahoo.com 1994

REPORTER Judy Brown judyporterbrown@gmail.com 1995

25th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Sarah Hall Stump sarahhallstump@icloud.com Walker Carter and Janet Cook Carter ’94, live in Washington, DC, with their two daughters, Shelby (14) and Holland (7). Keeping up the family tradition, Walker’s niece, Anna Noelke, will attend Rhodes in fall 2021.

Sangeetha Chakinala lives in New York City and works for Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. as a senior director and relationship manager of mutual fund sales.

Molly Caldwell Crosby is a bestselling author. Her first two books, The American Plague and Asleep, deal with how epidemics alter a city.

67

Her most recent book is The Great Pearl Heist. Molly lives in Memphis and is currently at work researching her next book.

Mary Margaret Hines Doyle lives in Marietta, GA, with her husband, Clem, and their two sons, Clay (18) and Hines (16). Clay will attend the University of Georgia in the fall. Mary Margaret recently retired as assistant director of First Presbyterian Church Preschool.

Jen Jenkins is the founder and agency director for Giant Artists, a production and management company in Los Angeles and New York for clients in music, entertainment, fashion, and advertising. With help from Rhodes Career Services, Jen and her husband, Kyle Riddle, hired Jenna Gilley ’20 last fall as a live-in tutor and nanny for their son, Wren (7), who Jen reports is “living his best California life, skiing and surfing on weekends.”

Kimbrelle Barbosa Lewis serves as president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). She lives in the Memphis area with her husband, Trey, and their three children.

Vaughn and Meg Rue Massie live in Aiken, SC. Meg currently volunteers as an annual giving co-chair for Mead Hall Episcopal School, where their daughter, Anne Fenton (15), is a freshman.

Their son, Mac (19), is a freshman at Wofford College. Vaughan has an orthopedic surgery practice, specializing in sports medicine, and is a team doctor for local high schools and the University of South Carolina–Aiken.

Lane Clements McLean lives in London, where she works as a jewels specialist at Phillips auction house. She recently traveled to Egypt with her children Myles (17),

68

Tilly (15), and Oliver (9). Lane reports they “homeschooled during the week but on the weekends saw the Valley of the Tombs and Karnak Temple (left), floated on the Nile, and — best of all — went to St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, a million miles from anywhere.”

John and Lane McNab Slater live in Berkeley, CA, with their three children Hart (16), Duncan (13), and Becky (10). Lane is principal and CEO of an awardwinning interior design firm and recently launched a sustainable furniture line, GUILD by LMI. John has worked in the brand and marketing departments at a number of Bay Area tech companies and is currently a creative director at Facebook.

Sarah McVoy Moye lives in Decatur, GA, with her husband, Will, and daughter, Eleanor (7).

After working in publishing and teaching at a local college, Sarah now enjoys life as a full-time school volunteer and mom to a busy girl who loves hiking, kayaking, and all sports.

Julie Wilkins Price lives in Nashville and works for Persuadable Research Corporation, a marketing research firm. She and her husband, Jamie, have been married almost 25 years and hope to travel in September to celebrate.

She is also waiting for the weather to warm up so they can put new kayaks to use.

Jonathan Schilling wrote just before setting fire to “a massive annual debris pile at a field station located in a boreal forest beside a lake.” A professor of mycology at the University of Minnesota, he will teach a graduate course this

summer at the Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Jonathan has two children, ages 11 and 14, with his partner, Emily.

Sarah Hall Stump lives in McLean, VA, with her husband, Jamie, and two daughters, Josephine (15) and Mary Parker (12). She edits publications and writes exhibition audio tours for clients including the Art Institute of Chicago, J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and National Gallery of Art, among others.

Lori Bond Weathers lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her husband, Alex, and two daughters, Ella (14) and Cameron (13). Retired from a career in marketing, she is on the board of trustees at her children’s school, where she chairs the enrollment management and marketing committee and serves on the diversity, equity, and inclusion task force, as well as the board of the Friends of Islands Initiatives, which helps fund medical equipment for Nevis.

Chris Williams is an environmental attorney at Maynard, Cooper & Gale in Birmingham. He and his wife, Amy, have two children, Noah (17) and Madeline (15), and a beloved dog, River.

Natasha Westrich Wood lives in St. Louis with her husband, Brendan, and two children, Ethan and Sarenna. She is a medical art therapist, working with pediatric hematology and oncology patients at Mercy Hospital. This fall, Art from the Heart, an annual art therapy show she started, will celebrate its 12th installment. She wrote about her work in Pediatric Medical Art Therapy, published in April.

1996

25th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021

After a year and a half at the Association of American Universities, Rob Marus has been promoted to associate vice president for communications.

REPORTER Jennifer Larson larson_jennifer@yahoo.com

Tip Tucker Kendall lives in Tucker, GA, a suburb of Atlanta, and is the director of member services for the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Along with being with her 9-year-old son, Isaac, and her partner, Joe, Tip has spent time during the pandemic gardening, playing tennis, and developing a love of running (which was previously an unthinkable notion). She finished her first 5K and 10K this fall and is training for her first in-person half-marathon in spring 2021.

Rocky Hidalgo is the head football coach at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, GA. He and his wife, Kelly Mallett ’97, have three children, Lily, Deuce, and Cooper. This fall, Lily will attend Young Harris College on a volleyball scholarship, Deuce will be a freshman in high school, and Cooper (9) will continue in his role as the “mayor of St. Simons Island.”

Shelley Hoffmann was appointed the 2021 President of Women In Cable Telecommunications, Southeast. WICT Southeast is one of 24 chapters across the US, Latin America, UK, and Europe and the second largest local chapter with over 1,000 members spanning the Southeast region including Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. WICT Global is an international association of 10,500 professionals who create transformative leaders and support the career growth of women in the cable television, digital telecommunications, and related industries. WICT provides unparalleled professional development programs, commissioning original gender research, and supporting a B2B network that helps advance women. Shelley is the senior director of content at Healthgrades.

Rhodes Class of 1996 alumnus and Embry-Riddle Head Coach Mike Rosolino has now led his team of student athletes to win 40 conference cross country and track championships in 18 years.

1997

REPORTER Laurea Glusman McAllister laureag@gmail.com

Jimmy Glorioso writes, “Working from home full-time has definitely changed things up a bit. In March of 2020, I returned to Children’s Health System of Texas as a senior director of clinical applications. My son and daughter, Trace and Gabby, will be graduating from Trinity University and Stephen F. Austin State University respectively in May of 2021.”

Josh Spickler writes, “My extroverted self got so frustrated with the pandemic that I’ve taken two solo backpacking trips since August. I learned that I can spend time alone in the woods with rattlesnakes and bears and be just fine! I bought a backpack and can’t wait for a post-pandemic trip with a friend.” In more professional news, the nonprofit I run and helped start, Just City, was a recipient of a grant from the NFL’s Inspire Change social justice program late last year. Ginger Crouch Spickler was instrumental in the effort to open a high school in the old Sears Crosstown building, and now our 16-year-old, Walt, is a sophomore there.

Ginger is the chief of staff.”

Shelley Roberts McLay reports, “Like so many others, the McLay family added a new quarantine pup to the family. We also finally sent our 2020 high school graduate, Aidan, off to Rhodes (Class of 2024) in January.

Aidan plans to study political science

while playing baseball for the Lynx. We narrowly survived the remote learning of his first semester. Turns out, college students don’t like living with a parent who is a former teacher turned study hall proctor. Aidan’s sisters, Abby and Ella, started high school this fall and occasionally admit that they miss having their big brother at home — but not really because the wifi is way better now.”

Madeline Tess Farmer, formerly general counsel to the Mississippi Public Service Commission, has accepted the director of corporate counsel position at American Water headquarters located in Camden, NJ. She will be relocating to Philadelphia, PA, from Jackson, MS, to take on that role. Also, she no longer lives as Frank Farmer.

Nell Bolton says, “My family and I have spent much of the past year “discovering” nearby outdoor treasures.

Time in nature has been a balm and a necessity. Like seemingly everyone else in the U.S., we’ve found new pleasure in gardening (mostly my greenthumbed husband’s doing!) but have also taken up kayaking on the local bayous, gotten to know our state parks, and helped our 6-year-old become a fearless bike rider. I haven’t missed my usual intense travel schedule; in prepandemic times, my role as a global justice and peacebuilding advisor for CRS kept me on planes far too much of the time. It turns out that we are all pretty good homebodies! Starting our son in French immersion kindergarten virtually was daunting at first, but we made it through almost seven months and are all thrilled about the recent return to on-campus learning.”

1998

REPORTER Susan Meredith Meyers susanmeyers26.2@gmail.com Clayton Littlejon shares that he’s leaving his job at King’s College

69

London to take a position as research professor at the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. (Of course, this is assuming Australia decides to let outsiders into the country at some point. He’s been waiting for quarantine restrictions to lift and for his visa for just about a year now.)

Mitchell A. Klink was invited to guest curate at the Bermuda National Gallery. The exhibit is “Illusion and Abstraction: Capturing the Landscape” and examines our relationship with the natural world through three distinct lenses: realism and depth; atmosphere, color and light; line, shape, and form. Mitchell moved to Bermuda in 2019; he works for EY in strategy and performance improvement.

Jennie Wingad relocated to Salt Lake City in 2016, where she manages her own law practice.

She and her partner welcomed a baby girl, Grace Catherine, on May 3, 2020. One silver lining of quarantine restrictions was the ability to spend extra time at home with their first-born.

Peter LaMotte was named president of Chernoff Newman, a Strategic Communications agency based in South Carolina with offices across the Southeast.

70

Janae Sholtz has co-edited and published two books, Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Feminism: Alliances and Allies (Bloomsbury Academic Press) and French and Italian Stoicisms: From Sartre to Agamben (Bloomsbury Academic Press) and, in May 2020, was named to the Fulbright Specialist list for a four-year tenure. The Fulbright Specialist Program is an opportunity for U.S. academics to engage in two- to six-week consultancies at host institutions across the globe and allows

universities, cultural centers, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions abroad to host a leading U.S. academic or professional to work on diverse, short-term collaborative projects. Janae is proud of this accomplishment, as she has spent the last six years developing philosophical relationships with various international, philosophical communities and will now be able to immerse herself more deeply with them to generate cross-cultural knowledge and a geographically rooted ethical awareness. She plans to conduct several collaborative, international research projects on issues of posthuman subjectivities, environmental ethics, and the relation between cosmology, physics, and philosophy.

Janae is an associate professor of philosophy at Alvernia University in Reading, PA, where she has taught for the last 11 years. She, her husband, Kyle and son, Julien, live in Reading.

1999

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’99 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

2000

20th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Nicki North Baxley nickinp@gmail.com Ebony McCain started a new job with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Circuit Executive Office as the assistant circuit executive for court policy and research. “I still live in St. Louis, MO, with my husband, Kenneth, and son, William.”

John Marshall has taken a new role in charge of partnerships at ApplePay in San Francisco.

Provost Umphrey Law Firm is pleased to announce that Matthew Matheny has been made an equity partner. Matt, who has been with the firm for 18 years, is widely recognized as a top personal injury lawyer in Texas. He holds an impressive track record for representing victims of industrial explosions, catastrophic auto accidents, and wrongful death claims. He is among the small group of Texas lawyers board-certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

One of Matt’s most notable achievements includes obtaining, alongside equity partner James Payne, the largest wrongful death settlement in South Carolina history for an individual against a defendant. Matt also served as counsel in the high-profile NFL concussion litigation.

Matt earned his law degree from the Baylor University School of Law. He has been recognized on the annual Texas Super Lawyers list multiple times as well as being selected to The Best Lawyers in America six years running. He has also made the list of National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers (2013 – present). Outside of the legal arena, Matt has been devoted to the Southeast Texas community, donating his time to several nonprofits. He is a current member of the board of directors for Beaumont Main Street.

2001

20th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021

REPORTER Katy Minten Gray mkminten@hotmail.com After 16 years of dating, Grace “Eve” Strain finally married Aaron M. Wilson on May 4, 2020, a maximally geeky wedding date. The bride wore a white and purple gown with a gray and white butterfly-print face mask. “We got married on a patch of green grass next to the parking lot of the groom’s place of work; we had three witnesses, face masks, social distancing, and no reception. Party to come when the world is a little more back to normal.” The couple lives just outside Scottsville, KY. Aaron is an interior designer in Bowling Green, and Eve is at home sewing face masks while furloughed from her jobs working for the family tax business and as the store administrator for Kohl’s 147.

From Nhung Do Hurst: “I have recently assumed the role as the first senior vice president corporate counsel for Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids, MI.” The last Rhodent Anna Teekell Hays saw before the world collapsed was her freshman roommate, Ashley Diaz Mejias. They met up in late February 2020 at the Science Museum of Virginia with their accumulated five children. They had less of an idea what would be in store for them than they did in August 1997. Anna has not had a haircut since, and it shows. As does her gray streak. She is not sure whether to blame COVID itself or a year of simultaneously being an English professor and a virtual schoolmarm.

Somehow, she managed to keep doing scholarly stuff (editing a journal issue on the novelist Elizabeth Bowen, who everybody should read, writing articles on Irish literature, and even appearing on her first podcast), and teaching college in person while not throwing either of her children into the Chesapeake Bay (it’s temptingly

nearby). Like everybody else, she baked mediocre pandemic bread and adopted another shelter dog. She’s really looking forward to reuniting with Ashley postvaccine and everybody else this fall.

Lindsey Lyon Chrestman writes: “My oldest son, John Chrestman ’20, officially graduated last May but will be allowed to have a ceremony in a few months. As a Rhodester, it is something special to have your child graduate from there as well. It was also fun to visit with him and find some of the same professors still teaching.”

2002

REPORTER Shannon Cian shannoncian@gmail.com Meghan Bromert reports: “My husband, Dain, and I are enjoying the heck out of our almost 18-month-old son, Charles, despite regular sleep deprivation. He’s a very sweet and curious boy who loves to try new things and continually test boundaries while sporting a cheeky grin. 2020 was a roller-coaster year for us like millions of others, but we are forever grateful for our health and the additional time we have had with our son to witness his milestones. You also get to know your spouse really well when you work and live from home with them. April marks 11 years of working at Nike, and I am currently the sustainable footwear director at our world headquarters in Oregon.

In this role, I work with all of our footwear product creation teams to source and apply sustainable solutions to our manufacturing. If you’re ever in Oregon, please do say hello!”

Notice for anyone who plays the pan f lute: Jared Allan Castagna is getting the band back together, and he’s looking for a pan f lautist. (Also, sorry ladies — he’s officially off the market!)

In September 2020, Shannon Cian stepped into the role of philanthropy & community partnerships director

at the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, where she has worked since 2018. Shannon enjoys engaging with passionate individuals and organizations throughout the year to help improve public education in her beloved home state.

Lawton Fabacher Mann is still listening to Taylor Swift’s “folklore” on repeat.

Stephanie Oakes Roach went to the doctor; she went to the mountains; she looked to the children; she drank from the fountains. There’s more than one answer to these questions pointing her in a crooked line. And the less she seeks her source for some definitive, the closer she is to fine.

Jonathan Russom sends love and light from some realm of the universe, from which he occasionally reconnects with the grid.

Ashley Sewell sent a carrier pigeon from pandemic lockdown in Los Angeles to alert her friends of the birth of her second son, Leonard Dowd Solomon, born in November 2020. Big brother, Arthur, thinks Lenny’s, you know, okay.

Has anyone seen Reggie Weaver? He owes me a burrito with guac — and I hope he knows the guac is extra.

2003

REPORTER Scott Holmes holmes.scott@gmail.com Greetings from the Class of 2003!

We’ve all been busy trying to move back to normal, but a few of us had time to send in an update!

Tara Kim has been playing the name change game, but is back to Kim and alive and well in Houston, TX! Nicholas Elder was recently promoted to partner at Cobb & Gonzalez, P.A. They specialize in construction and business litigation in Jacksonville, FL.

71

Caki Wilkinson is an associate professor in the English Department at Rhodes, and her third book of poems, The Survival Expo, is coming out June 2021.

The book includes her poem “Elvis Week,” which was in The New Yorker last year, and several other Memphis poems (though it’s the only one featuring Elvis interpreters).

Shawn McCarthy has been living in Seoul, South Korea, with her British husband for 13 years now. Both teach at universities in Seoul. She was thrilled to become a permanent resident of Korea in 2019 after several years of working towards achieving it through volunteer work, language study, and a variety of other criteria (it’s not an easy task!). Fortunately, her adopted second home has handled the outbreak of COVID-19 relatively well, so she is proud, and also, relieved. Her classes moved online in the spring semester of 2020, but she was back in the classroom for most of the fall semester with all the expected precautions (maskwearing, social distancing, etc.).

Like so many others, she is longing for the day when she’ll be able to travel again so that she can finally visit her family in the States after what has so far been a nearly threeyear hiatus.

old) and Jackson (17 months old), and last fall became a partner at Deloitte & Touche. Lynn shares that it’s been a busy and interesting, but fun year!

REPORTERS Brandon Couillard brandon.couillard@gmail.com

2006

15th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021

Molly Fitzpatrick mhfitz11@hotmail.com In August 2020, Sarah Hildenbrand Esberger started a doctorate in education from the University of Indiana at Bloomington with a focus on literacy, culture, and language.

Elizabeth Maxey was recently promoted to senior director of revenue cycle analytics for American Physician Partners, which is an ER and hospitalist group operating across 15 states.

2004

REPORTERS C. Kyle Russ ckyleruss@yahoo.com

Anne Rain Tanner Brown and her husband, Hunter, welcomed their baby Isabelle Jane into the world October 27, 2020.

Katherine Carter Files and Thayer Hutcheson have been in Houston and both met Isabelle, and Anne Rain is looking forward to introducing her to the rest of the Rhodes girls now that they are vaccinated! This family has had quite the whirlwind the last few weeks in a hotel due to the Texas freeze and burst pipes, but are thankful for a happy, adaptable baby and insurance coverage!

Here is a picture of this family of three visiting theJapanese Gardens in Hermann Park (catching some fresh air after 2.5 weeks of hotel life).

Stacy Sidle stacy.sidle@gmail.com

Lynn Keathley Staner now has two boys — Cooper (3.5 years

As for myself, I am still living the dream here in Tuscaloosa where I have recently moved back into my office in City Hall after a year of working in Incident Command. I hope that it will stick, and we can start looking forward to a normal fall this year!

72

2005

15th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021

REPORTER Caroline King Willson caroline.king.willson@gmail.com The Class of 2006 has had quite a year — lots of weddings, new jobs, and new babies!

It has been a while since LauraCaroline Johnson de Lara has sent in updates, but she’s got a lot to report. In 2017, Laura-Caroline married her husband, Mexican sculptor Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, in a civil ceremony in Chicago followed by a big celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2018. Still living in Chicago, Laura-Caroline spent the last four years working her way up from collection & exhibition manager at DePaul Art Museum to now interim director of the institution, promoting the work and voices of BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ artists and communities that have previously been marginalized in museum spaces. COVID has really put a damper on her regular dinner dates with fellow Lynx-cat-turnedChicagoan, Mallory Thornberry Maloney, but they make it work. LC hopes to make a return Memphis visit very soon!

Jenny Rogers and her husband, Dave, are still living in Northeast DC with Walter (3) and Wesley (1.5). Jenny continues to work at the Washington Post, where she runs the freelance network and mostly edits national news stories and special projects. A package she conceived and edited highlighting

the voices of ICU nurses at the peak of the pandemic led the front page of the Post in December. Rhodes alums should feel free to send her news tips any time!

Ellie Wigodsky married Michael Kelley on October 10, 2020, in Asheville, NC. Caroline Fabacher, Molly Williams Logan, Margaret Brunstad Williams, Sally Baker Woods, and Liz Wiedemann Cohen ’05 were in attendance for a socially distant wedding.

Alice Frost and her husband, Richard ’04, welcomed a baby girl into their family on March 30, 2020. Elizabeth joined her three big brothers, James, Owen, and Turner, and their family is complete!

Rachel Haggerty Stevens and her husband, Shelby, had their third baby girl, Magnolia McCalmont Stephens, on July 22, 2020.

Tim Robinson has been with Walmart for 15 years and is now vice president of merchandising operations for the Fresh Food business. It’s been a crazy year of customer demand and supply chain disruption with COVID and all the storms our country has faced.

In addition to Walmart, Tim still has fun owning Phat Tire Bike Shop and is now up to 13 stores across Arkansas and Oklahoma. The bike industry has also been its own case study this year on supply chain and customer demand, “but if anyone wants a bike let me know because we are now back in stock!”

Tim’s family is looking forward to warm summer months ahead to spend time outside and in the water until life returns to “normal.”

recover from 2020 and start renovations on my 105-year-old home.”

After postponing their May wedding date due to COVID, Sarah Fairchild and Shane Steinberg were married in Arlington, VA, on October 18, 2020, with just immediate family and the wedding party present. Marie Francis performed her Maid of Honor duties by moderating the Zoom from San Francisco. Sarah and Shane reside in Washington, DC, with their dog, Eden, and cat, Sami. In May, Sarah will mark 15 years working in the United States Senate. They look forward to a trip to Memphis for Homecoming in October and can’t wait to see everyone.

From Danielle Mashburn Myrick: “The Myricks have not slowed down during the pandemic. On the professional front, last year Phelps Dunbar promoted me to counsel.

In personal news, on January 10th, 2021, Matt and I welcomed a baby girl, Virginia Reed Myrick. She joins big sister, Ida Mae (7 years), and big brother, Telfair “Telly” (5 years). Our crew is so thankful for the moments of light that have provided hope and renewal in this dark season.”

Jessica Graham LaFleur and her husband, Joshua, welcomed their son, Anthony, into the world on January 12, 2020.

Patrick Crouch and his wife, Ashley, welcomed James Duncan Crouch on February 17, 2021. Mom and baby are doing well.

Laura Dallas McSorley wrote: “Besides seeing a few pandemic buddies Latoya Newsom-Harris wrote, “I’m outside for kid-tastic hikes, like Ellie officially a nurse! I completed my Hahn McBroom ’08, it’s been a year master’s in nursing in December and hunkered down with husband Tom, passed my state boards in February. I kindergartener Helene, and pre-K 3 accepted a promotion at the women’s Luke. I’m happy to be working to health clinic I’ve been with since advance progressive early childhood October 2018 and the transition to full- policies at the Center for American time nurse has been pretty seamless. I Progress. If the pandemic made you am still planning to enroll in a Nurse realize how critical childcare is to the Midwifery Certificate program, but I’ve operation of, well, everything, then find decided to give myself a few months to me to join this movement!”

Patterson Intellectual Property Law has elected Scott M. Douglass to a shareholder of the firm. Scott concentrates his practice in the areas of trademarks, copyrights, and data privacy. He litigates trademark, trade dress, and copyright claims in federal courts across the country. He represents companies and individuals acting as both rightsholders asserting their rights and defendants accused of infringing others’ rights. After graduating from Rhodes, Scott graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy and vice chairman of the Wake Forest Honor Council. He was a member of the 2019-20 Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum, was named to the Super Lawyers list of “Rising Stars” in Intellectual Property Law for the years 2018-20, and to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Intellectual Property Law and Litigation for 2021.

2007

REPORTER Mollie Briskman Montelaro mollie.montelaro@gmail.com Nick Stutzman and his wife, Krista, welcomed Everett Graham Stutzman on August 26, 2020. Nick reports that he is a future Lynx cat in the making!

Cecilia Louise Joslyn was born to Drs. Brittany Melvin and Peter Joslyn on February 20, 2021. Cecilia joins big brother, Samuel.

Katina Papathopoulos Gifford and her husband, James, are the proud parents are two cute boys. Emmitt Wayne Gifford was born on November 8, 2018. He was later joined by Ramsey Emerson Gifford on November 30, 2020.

In September 2019, Taylor Brown began a position as an endocrine surgeon and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and the Brown family relocated to Kirkwood, MO. Taylor’s practice focuses on the diseases and surgical

73

treatment of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands.

Taylor and Chelsea Castiglioni also recently welcomed Rosie Louise Brown to their family on March 2, 2021. She joins big brothers, Colt (5) and Hudson (3).

In July 2020 Sarah Galpern Via and her family made the move back to Dallas. Sarah’s husband, Michael, is the director of enrollment management at St. John’s Episcopal School while Sarah completes her master’s in school counseling through the College of William & Mary.

Anne Barenkamp and her husband, Jake Fisher, welcomed their first child, Frances Iona Barenkamp Fisher, on May 24, 2020. Anne reports they spent the last trimester hunkered down while she taught high school history classes online. The Lynx bib from Rhodes is used constantly. Britain Sterling Lenz and Emily Baldwin Bryan live nearby in St. Louis and have both been able to meet Francie (from a six-foot distance).

2008

REPORTER Madoline Markham madolinemarkham@gmail.com Ginger Thompson Wedemeyer and her husband, David, welcomed their third child in July 2020.

Ginger reports that they now have three spunky, sweet girls who keep them very busy. They live in Nashville, where Ginger works for Ascension Health.

74

Meg Sizemore Clark launched her own website at peachykeenmeg. com. “I’m at home with a toddler, and we’re just holding our breath for that vaccine appointment March-ish — the one time having a preexisting condition is worthwhile,” she wrote in early March.

Robert Porter and his wife, Danielle, welcomed a baby girl, Ivy Paris Porter, in February. She weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 20 inches long.

2009

REPORTER Kelsey Griffith kelsey.dean.griffith@gmail.com Despite the ongoing pandemic, members of the Class of 2009 continue to excel in their careers and branch out into creative outlets.

Jarrett “J” Carpenter hosts a society and culture podcast, Wifi & Water, which has featured multiple Rhodes alumni as guests, including Lauren Hampton Joyner (episode 34), Claire White Weaver (episode 6), and Jessica Cowan ’11 (episode 37). Listen wherever you find your podcasts!

Andrea “Annie” Bell recently changed jobs. She joined MetaBank in March 2021 as community impact program manager where she leads all enterprise-wide employee volunteerism and community investments.

Alycia Hayne Swayze has started a production company, Harlow Hayne Productions, in which she writes and produces comedy.

Under the Harlow Hayne umbrella, she has created a podcast called Obsession Confessions (Jamison Beuerman was a recent guest) and a couple of different series. People can check her out on Instagram @ harlowhayneoriginals. It is lighthearted comedy meant to bring people together, particularly during these tough times.

The Class of 2009 also continues to add to the growing population of future Lynx!

Hilarie Dahlhauser Samei gave birth to a beautiful son, Cyrus, on October 28, 2020, in the comfort

of her own living room (she’s on a crusade to normalize home birth!).

Marjorie Schwan Armstrong and her husband welcomed a baby girl, Katherine Witherspoon Armstrong, on October 30, 2020. Big brother, Blake, is excited about her arrival!

Rebecca Bates and her husband, Michael Gossett ’10, welcomed their first child on December 7, 2020. Mathilde Leopoldine Bates-Gossett was born seven weeks early and spent nearly 40 days in the NICU. She is now home and thriving. Mathilde was born in Colorado Springs, CO, where Michael and Rebecca have temporarily relocated during the pandemic. They plan to return to New York City soon.

2010

10th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Alexandra Nobel Murry amnobel@gmail.com 2011

10th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Grace Weil gracem.weil@gmail.com Brittany Erwin Lawnin and her husband, Reynolds, welcomed their second son, Philip Reynolds, on July 23, 2020. He is adored by his big brother, Michael, and loved by several Rhodes alumni, including his aunt, Elizabeth Ann Lawnin ’10, and his uncle and soon to be aunt, Carter Lawnin ’07 and Brittany Underwood ’09.

Woody Lawson is learning to raise backyard chickens in Cincinnati with his wife Jaclyn. If you are in Cincinnati, he’d love to connect.

Jenni Frierson lives in DC and works for Discovery, Inc. (owner of cable networks such as the Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, and the Food Network) as the director of audience measurement and insights (putting that psychology degree to good use!).

Elizabeth Hook and Sarah Rogers wed on July 18, 2020 in Washington, DC, where they live. The service took place at a friend’s home. Anne Harper, Kirby Pool Henderson, and Carolyn Lamere ’12 attended virtually. Elizabeth and Sarah look forward to an in-person celebration with more friends and family in the future.

Heather Bishop Troupe accepted a new position as an ultrasound technologist II with the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston, TX, in October 2020. She has also been serving as a member of the Rhodes New Alumni Council since January 2020. Her husband continues to work as the afternoon onair personality for Mix 96.5 Houston, where Heather semiregularly gets to play guest host now that he is broadcasting from home. Their son, Griffin, will be 4 at the beginning of April and is very excited to start soccer soon. Porkchop, their dog (and first “baby”), is still unsure about the small human in the house, but tolerates him pretty well due to his short stature and easy access from which to steal food.

The “snowpocalypse” was rough, but they all came out okay!

Heather is looking forward to the Class of 2011’s TEN-year reunion later this year, and is serving as a member of the planning committee.

Emerson Cook finally remembered to respond to a Rhodes Magazine update email after nearly 10 years of no updates!

While he wasn’t living in a foreign land or returning from an off-world adventure over the last ten years, Emerson is currently working as a licensed master social worker for a home hospice company in Newnan, GA, where he gives hope and joy to terminally ill clients. Emerson will be applying for his clinical social work licensure exam in a few weeks and hopes to be a licensed clinical social worker by this summer. After that, he has plans to move into private practice psychotherapy, his professional joy, working directly with clients with emotional and behavior health problems. As a frontline healthcare worker, Emerson has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and enjoys spending time with small groups of family and friends, taking long walks, listening to podcasts, reading, cooking, and checking out new restaurants that may only be take-out.

Emerson encourages fellow Rhodes Class of 2011 alumni to reach out sometime if they’re near Atlanta!

Katie Morgan and Aaron Michelsohn ’10 welcome their second child, Frederick Bayliss Morgan Michelsohn. Sister, Mary Nell (future class of ’41), is elated to be a big sister.

Rhodes Alumnae Are Finding Careers in the Emerging Field of Child Life Specialists Child life specialists work to support children and their families during stressful experiences, most often in the hospital setting. These specialists use therapeutic play, psychological preparation, and education to teach children and families coping strategies and to promote healthy development. Child life is an emerging academic discipline, and many child life specialists are prepared in related fields, such as psychology or human development and family studies, before performing clinical internships and becoming certified.

Rhodes College does not have a formal child life academic program, but is an excellent place to pursue the academic preparation needed to become a certified child life specialist. In fact, several Rhodes College graduates have pursued the child life profession and are excelling in unique aspects of their professional fields.

Jessika Morris Boles ’07 is a child life team leader at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and an adjunct professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Since graduating from Rhodes College, Jessika has remained dedicated to research and academia, as evidenced by her numerous presentations and publications. Just this year, Jessika was named as the chief fellow for the Association of Child Life Professionals’ (ACLP) inaugural class of research fellows.

Sarah Daniels ’15 is a certified child life specialist and researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Memphis. Sarah is a member of the inaugural class of research fellows for the ACLP and a member of the review board for the Journal of Child Life: Psychosocial Theory and Practice. Sarah is passionate about improving the experiences of adolescents and young adults in the hospital and published her first original research study in the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing this spring.

— continued on page 77

75

Marrissa Curtis is living in St. Louis now and has left the aviation industry. She’s a realtor and loving it! During quarantine, Marrissa took up royal icing cookie decorating. They’re still ugly, but it’s so much fun!

the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission makes her the perfect candidate to lead the Foundation’s programing and planning efforts,” said Dr. Tony Rucci, president and CEO of the America 250 Foundation.

The America 250 Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, has announced the appointment of Anna Laymon as vice president of programs and planning. Anna will lead the development, design, and execution of programs nationwide in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. She will also oversee efforts to encourage partners and stakeholders to develop programs for Americans in every state and territory.

“With her exemplary leadership skills and experience designing national signature programs, we are thrilled to have Anna join the team as we enter the five-year countdown to America’s momentous 250th birthday.” The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and its nonprofit partner, the America 250 Foundation, are tasked with planning and orchestrating the 250th anniversary of American independence, which will take place on July 4, 2026. The organizations work collaboratively with public and private entities across the country to make America 250 the largest and most inclusive commemoration in our nation’s history leading up to and extending from 2026.

“I’m incredibly honored to join the America 250 Foundation as we plan for the largest and most inclusive commemoration in our nation’s history. Over the next five years and beyond, our goal is to encourage and deliver more than 100,000 programs at the grassroots and national levels focused on educating, engaging and uniting all Americans.”

Prior to her role with the America 250 Foundation, Anna served as executive director of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the federal agency tasked by Congress and the White House to lead the nationwide commemorations of the centennial of the 19th Amendment and women’s right to vote. In addition, Anna has served as director of partnerships and public programs for the National Woman’s Party, where she created and implemented the long-term strategic vision for the organization’s public programs, community engagement and partnerships.

“Anna’s recent, highly successful tenure as executive director of

76

2012

REPORTER Kelly Parry kparry1211@gmail.com 2013

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’13 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

2014

REPORTER Matt Washnock washnockm@gmail.com Cicely Upham and Adam Alsamadisi ’12 are happy to announce the birth of their daughter (left).

“Carmela Rhudy

Alsamadisi was born October 6, 2020, and has brought us so much needed happiness this year!”

Cade and Molly Laycock Grigsby welcomed their first child, George Cunningham Grigsby, in September of 2020. Future Rhodes Class of 2043!

Sahar Mokhtari Moshref married Abteen Moshref and is hoping to practice in Memphis after graduating from dental school at the UT College of Dentistry in May 2022.

Jillian LaBranche is beginning her Ph.D. fieldwork in Sierra Leone and Rwanda. This year, she was also named a Fulbright National Semi-Finalist (still waiting to hear if she received the award) and was awarded a prestigious American Sociological Association Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant.

Maggie Cupit-Link is completing her pediatric residency at Washington University in St. Louis and will start a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital starting in July.

Kyleigh Naughton celebrates her one-year anniversary working as a production finance analyst at Industrial Light & Magic on March 30, 2021. It was definitely a unique first year on the job — she started two weeks after the shelter-in-place order was imposed in California and has been working remotely the entire time. She looks forward to returning to the Lucasfilm/ILM headquarters in San Francisco later this year!

Sarah DiLella Finley married Martin Finley on July 11, 2020 in Belton, SC. The bridal party included Molly Finch, Michel LeRoy, Jenna Sarret and Katie Hatstat ’16. Taylor Koczot was also in the bridal party but was unable to attend due to the pandemic. Sarah is a high school counselor and the girls’ varsity soccer coach at Belton-Honea Path High School.

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’16 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

From Milan Billingsley: “I’m currently in Tanzania on a world trip.

Last week my guide and I summited Mt. Kilimanjaro (shown below). That has definitely been a personal highlight since leaving the working world. I’ve always known I wanted to travel the world. Now is the time to do it because I’m young and without responsibilities.

From a global perspective, now is the time to travel because the world is changing at such a fast pace (economic development/Westernization is causing a homogenization of culture). So far, I’ve been through North/Central America, Western then Eastern Europe, and now East Africa, and headed down to South Africa. You can follow my travels on Instagram (@ milanisglobal). I’m sort of lost, no real clue what I want to do with my life but enjoying every day!”

Above: U.S. Senate staffers Taylor Burnett ’14 and Paul Burdette ’16 had the opportunity to attend the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

2015 5th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021 REPORTER Caroline Ponseti caroline.ponseti@gmail.com Diego Calderon-Arrieta just completed his first semester in the Chemistry Ph.D. program at Purdue University. He is planning on doing research into climate change and aerosol chemistry in the coming months.

2016 5th Reunion Homecoming/Reunion Weekend October 1–3, 2021

2017 REPORTER Mason Brown marymason.brown910@gmail.com Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., is pleased to announce that Alessandro Secino has joined the firm as an associate in the Real Estate Department. Alessandro served as a summer associate with Henderson Franklin in 2019. He has a developing practice in water rights law and works with the Condominium and Homeowners’ Association practice group. In addition to his J.D., Alessandro achieved a business law

Jennifer Hansen Staab ’06 is a child life manager and research and quality improvement specialist for the child life department at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Jennifer has served as chair for several professional committees focused on advancing evidence-based practice and research efforts within the ACLP. In addition to her numerous professional presentations and scholarly publications regarding child life clinical care and quality improvement, Jennifer is the incoming associate editor for the Journal of Child Life: Psychosocial Theory and Practice.

Recently, these three alumnae teamed up with other child life specialists across the country to author chapters in the first-ever published textbook for research methods for child life specialists. Having had a strong background in statistics, research methods, and compassionate critical thinking from their undergraduate coursework at Rhodes College, Jessika, Sarah, and Jennifer all reflect that their undergraduate experiences adequately prepared and inspired their further pursuit of work that would contribute to the evidence base that supports their profession. Even if you are not a child life specialist, their book is sure to present research methods in a way that is digestible and useful for the novice or experienced social science researcher.

Check it out on Amazon today (ISBN13: 978-1527564954.)

Many other child life specialists are graduates of Rhodes College and several continue to work in institutions within the state of Tennessee and across the country. Each of these individuals importantly contributes to the meaningful work done by child life specialists to reduce fear and anxiety among youth across the country. If you are interested in learning more about the profession, please visit www. childlife.org.

77

certificate with high honors from Florida State University College of Law. He served as an editor on FSU Law’s Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law and was a board member of FSU Law School Council. Alessandro is a member of the Lee County Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Division. When not working, he is an avid angler and a member of Cape Coral Tarpon Hunters. He currently resides in Cape Coral.

2018

REPORTER Jessie Robinson jessierobinson1995@gmail.com Reeta Bandyopadyhah will be completing her dietetic internship and master of science in exercise and nutrition science in 2021 at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. Francis Carlota won the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition National Championship last February and will be graduating from California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA, on April 30. He currently works for California Law Partners and will take the California bar exam in July.

Haley Cremarius is a second-year veterinary student at the University of Tennessee and is participating in a pharmacology research project this summer. She also adopted from the Knoxville shelter and became a cat mom to her new buddy, Jameson, in September!

Thomas Cullom finished a master’s degree in medical physics at Duke University last May and is now a first-year medical physics resident at Duke.

Katrina Cymerman got on the law review and trial team at

78

Pepperdine Law School this year.

She also learned to surf and ski!

Ashley Doyle moved to Alaska, got married, and has completed two master’s degrees. Her degrees are a M.A. in higher education (College Athletic Leadership) and a M.Ed with a special education concentration.

Laura Ecklekamp served as executive vice president of the Student Bar Association at Saint Louis University School of Law for the 2020-2021 academic year. She will graduate with a J.D. this May and plans to practice family law in St. Louis, MO. Luke Fairbanks taught STEM at international schools in Shanghai, China, until COVID, struck then transitioned into a physics Ph.D. program at UCSD with the research goal of advancing fusion power science. He also adopted a cat named Pookie.

Ellie Fratt recently started medical school at the new Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine in Pasadena, CA, and will be one of the 49 members of the inaugural class when she graduates in 2024.

Sarah Johnson got married on August 8, 2020 to Jonathon Rusche.

Jenny Li is halfway through the Erasmus Mundus program: European Master in Tourism Management, working as a freelance film and book critic in China.

Jesse Linkhorn plans to attend the University of Oregon and start his Ph.D. in Economics this fall.

Jessie Robinson has helped over 540 veterans experiencing homelessness obtain housing in the Denver metro area through her work at Volunteers of America’s Veterans Service Center.

Katie Tooley finished her master’s in engineering management and her second bachelor’s in biomedical engineering, both from Washington University in St. Louis. She is now working as an engineer for the American Bureau of Shipping in Houston, TX. Emily Watkins started a fiveyear Ph.D. program in social psychology at the University of Kansas last fall. She is working with one of her social psychology idols, Monica Biernat.

Meredith Clement was recently elected to be chief justice of the Moot Court Board at Tulane University Law School, where she will serve for the 2021-2022 school year.

Atticus Wolfe completed his master’s in public health policy and administration at the University of Minnesota and is now in his first year as a sociology doctoral student at the University of South Carolina, studying the relationship between gender and biomedicine.

2019

REPORTER Junior Walters jeffreywalters2@gmail.com 2020

REPORTER If you are interested in serving as the Class of ’20 reporter, please contact alumni@rhodes.edu.

IN MEMORIAM ’42 Hugh Goldsby Black, Jr. of San Marcos, TX, October 7, 2020. Hugh, born on September 20, 1920, grew up in Memphis, TN, with his parents and sister. After graduating from Rhodes College with a B.A. in music, he joined the U.S. Army. He fought in WWII, landing at Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion. After the war, he lived in Mexico, learning Spanish, which he taught later in Texas.

He attended UT at Austin, earning his master’s degree in library science. He joined Southwest Texas State’s library, advancing to head of public services, in charge of both Circulation and Reference Departments. In retirement, he was a dedicated volunteer tutor for ESL students at the San Marcos Public Library for more than 20 years. Hugh, a seasoned world traveler with a lifelong love of opera and classical music, was also a talented pianist and songwriter.

His many dear friendships and a lifetime of adventures reflect the amazing man he was. He is survived by two nieces and a nephew, as well as several grand and greatgrand-nieces and nephews. ’47 Jane Davidson Walsh of Sonora, CA, June 3, 2020. ’47 Jane Williams Sides of Collierville, TN, March 6, 2021.

She was born on September 11, 1925, in Tunica, MS. Jane served as an elder in the Tunica Presbyterian Church and was a past president of St. Andrew Presbytery. She also served as president of the Mother’s Club and the PTA of Tunica Academy. Her life exemplified her passions, faith in Jesus Christ, and her family. Survivors include three children, nine grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, two nieces, and two nephews. ’48 Rt. Rev. William A. Jones, Jr. of Kennett Square, PA, October 11, 2020. Born January 24, 1927, in Memphis, TN, he graduated from Rhodes College, Yale Divinity School, and Virginia Theological Seminary. He served as an Episcopal priest in churches in Pulaski, TN; Nashville, TN; LaGrange, GA; Birmingham, AL; and Johnson City, TN. He was the executive director of Association for the Christian Training and Service (ACTS) in the mid-1960s.

In 1975, he was consecrated as the VIII Episcopal Bishop of Missouri. In 1992, Bill returned to his deep love of the parish ministry and served a year at St. Margaret’s Church in Rainham, England. In his retirement, Bill continued his involvement in the Episcopal church in TN, DE, and PA. At ACTS, he created a 16-denomination organization that engaged churches across the South in community action to address urban challenges. While he was Bishop

of Missouri, Bill provided leadership to clergy and laity in changes to the prayer book, civil rights, and the ordination of women. Wherever he lived and worked, and until his death, Bill was concerned with serving and working for the rights of those marginalized in our society. He was active in the civil rights movement in the ’60s in the South; fought for funds to continue hospital services for people in need in inner-city St. Louis in the ’80s; and throughout his life continued to engage whomever he could in discussions about social justice. He was known for his personal and spiritual depth and strong leadership. Bill and his wife, Maggie ’49 (Margaret Loaring-Clark Jones), loved to travel, hike, and enjoyed music and plays together for 70+ years. Together they raised four independent, intelligent, compassionate daughters. Bill is survived by his four daughters and their families. ’48 Rosalie Cooper Rudner of Memphis, TN, December 6, 2020. Rosalie was the heart and soul of her family. For 44 years she was the beloved wife of the late Dr. Henry G. Rudner, Jr. She was a graduate of Rhodes College and Columbia University in New York where she earned a master’s degree in mathematics. Rosalie was a lifelong member of Temple Israel. She was known for her devotion to her family and many friends. She was the loving mother of her three children and proud grandmother of seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. ’48 John Pittman Douglas of Memphis, TN, January 24, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Edna Gardner Douglas, to whom he was devoted for 65 years. John was born in Arlington, TN, on July 3, 1924. He graduated from Rhodes College and served honorably in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Thereafter, during his career in banking, he managed the Millington branch — known to many as Peoples State Bank — of Barret Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company that he also served as director and ultimately chaired before his retirement. A longtime member of Second Presbyterian, a church he loved dearly, John served as elder and actively studied the Bible until his last days. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his brother and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. ’48 Sonya Alperin Krivcher of Memphis, TN, February 6, 2021. Sonya passed at the age of 93, less than a month before her 94th birthday. She was a native Memphian and lived in Memphis her entire life. Sonya was married to Robert R. Krivcher for 41 years until his death in 1991. She graduated

79

from Central High School and Rhodes College. Sonya was a retired realtor, who was associated with Coleman Etter Fontaine, and later with George Humphrey Realtors. She was a member of the “Million Dollar Club.”

Sonya had many interests. She loved music and was an accomplished pianist. She enjoyed ballroom dancing, and she was an avid reader. Sonya was a very charitable person and contributed to many organizations and institutions. She was a member of Temple Israel Synagogue, a past member of the board of Plough Towers, which her mother co-founded, and belonged to several other organizations. Most of all, Sonya loved spending time with her friends and family, and thoroughly enjoyed being a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. ’49 Eloise Metzer Lewis of Apollo Beach, FL, March 3, 2020. ’49, GP’21, GP’23 Jacqueline Fish Byrd of Paducah, KY, October 22, 2020. Jackie was born on October 10, 1927, at the Mason’s Hospital in Murray, KY. She graduated from E.W. Grove High School and attended Rhodes College, then graduated from the University of Kentucky and received a master’s degree from Murray State University. Jackie taught math, history, and science at Clark Elementary, Brazelton Jr. High School, Heath High School, and Reidland High School. For several years, she was a bookkeeper for her husband’s law practice. Jackie’s greatest joys were her church and her family. As a devoted member of Broadway United Methodist Church since 1951, she was a Sunday School teacher, a member of the choir, a member and president of the United Methodist Women, facilitator of prayer retreats, and a frequent volunteer. Jackie was interested in genealogy and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a lifetime member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Survivors include children (Mary Byrd Ferrara P’21, P’23 and husband, Chris P’21, P’23), grandchildren (John Martin Ferrara ’21 and Richard Byrd Ferrara ’23), and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, William Bellew Byrd. ’49 Emily E. “Lib” Dubney of Kingsport, TN, December 1, 2020. Lib was born in Chattanooga, TN, on August 13, 1927, and moved to Kingsport with her family at a young age. She attended Kingsport City Schools and graduated from Dobyns-Bennett High School. She continued her education at Rhodes College, where she was named outstanding senior athlete and was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Upon graduation in 1949, Lib returned to Kingsport and began a long, illustrious career in education as a

80

science teacher at John Sevier Junior High and then later at Dobyns-Bennett. Lib furthered her own education in the early 1970s by completing a master’s of supervision and principalship at ETSU. The science teacher in Lib loved everything about nature and being outdoors, especially her farm and property on Boone Lake. Her garden and its produce were legendary, and Lib became a notable fixture at the Kingsport farmer’s market. Lib’s tenure as a teacher included a multitude of honors, activities, and accomplishments.

The Southern Appalachian Science Association named her an Outstanding Science Teacher. In 1972, before girls’ sports were sanctioned by TSSAA, Lib coached girls’ football and girls’ basketball, driving the teams to games, replacing antiquated equipment, and probably washing uniforms as well. Lib was a superb girls’ track and cross-country coach, her teams winning numerous district and regional championships. Many will remember Lib as an exceptional biology teacher, an enthusiastic sponsor of the Pep Club, a founder and sponsor of the Ebony Club, as well as a sponsor of the camera and audiovisual clubs. To honor her many educational efforts, Lib was inducted into the Kingsport City Schools Hall of Fame in 2016. When she retired from teaching, her commitment to education continued with her 1985 election to the Kingsport Board of Education, serving as board president from 1991 to 1993. Under her leadership, a new Washington Elementary School was built and three other elementary schools were fully renovated. Keeping busy was never a problem for Lib, and upon leaving the school board she became involved with the DB Alumni Association, serving on the board and then as president. Through the efforts of Lib and a host of other dedicated supporters, the Dobyns-Bennett High School Alumni Foundation was formed and $2.8 million was raised toward the cost of the Field House. Lib was inducted into the DBHS Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012. During her lifetime of service to others, she presided over multiple committees and boards of the Kingsport Senior Citizen program, served on the Kingsport Fun Fest executive committee, cooked Meals on Wheels for 24 years, and co-edited the papers of Leroy Sprankle into the book, My Boys. As an active member of First Baptist Church, Kingsport, since the 1930s, Lib taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, chaired the AV committee, and coordinated the nurseries among many other duties. She is survived by many family members, including many nieces and nephews she loved. While Lib never had children of her own, she “mothered” thousands of children in many different ways during her lifetime. Lib once said, “Anything that I have been privileged to do for Kingsport has been a labor of love.” Because of that love, when people in Kingsport from all walks of life hear her name, many will fondly reference the science teacher, the coach, the mentor, or the civic cheerleader.

’49 James M. Turner of Laytonsville, MD, September 7, 2020. Husband of the late Sue Henry Turner ’49, he is survived by his daughter and son, four grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. Jim was born in Marks, MS, on July 5, 1926. He graduated from Rhodes College with a bachelor of science degree with majors in math and physics. He was president of his fraternity (Kappa Sigma), the student body, and was selected for their Hall of Fame. He was also a Navy veteran. He worked for IBM for 30 years. After retirement, he enjoyed being active in Leisure World, and most importantly, was a member of Oakdale Emory United Methodist Church and its Mighty Oaks senior organization. He will be dearly missed by family and friends. He will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. ’49, P’73, GP’07 Gwendolyn “Lee-Lee” E. McPherson Wall of Clarksville, TN, December 23, 2020. Lee-Lee was born on August 20, 1928, in Atlanta, GA. She attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, where her father was president, and then graduated from Rhodes College. She met Dr. William Herschel Wall, Jr. in Memphis, and they married in November 1949. Bill and Lee-Lee settled in Clarksville and together raised four children. They were married for 47 wonderful years. Lee-Lee was active in local community service and positively impacted the lives of many Clarksvillians. She was a member of Madison Street United Methodist Church for over 60 years. Lee-Lee is survived by her three children, including Gwendolyn Elizabeth Wall ’73, nine grandchildren including Elizabeth Sarah Kathryn Weakley ’07, as well as six great-grandchildren. ’49 Elizabeth “Betty” Stout Green of Germantown, TN, February 8, 2021. She was born in Memphis on May 13, 1926. Betty’s childhood was filled with many friendships which lasted a lifetime. Her father was an accomplished horseman, and Betty developed an early love of riding. Betty graduated from Central High school in Memphis, and attended Christian College in Columbia, MO. She came home and went to Rhodes College, where she met Clifford Green, Jr., whom she instantly set her eyes on. They married and their happy marriage produced three children. She was heartbroken when she lost Cliff in 1981. In her 94 years, Betty was active in Germantown Presbyterian Church and Women of the Church. Her chocolate sheet cake was a staple at every church Family Night Supper. She loved gardening and was a member of the Suburban Garden Club.

An avid tennis player, she was a member of the Germantown Women’s Tennis Club, which successfully lobbied to replace the old courts near the Horse Show grounds. She was a member of the Germantown Charity Horse Show Association and attended the show every year, usually right after returning from the family’s yearly trip to Myrtle Beach.

Betty led a very active life. In addition to tennis and golf, she used to water ski, snow ski, and bike. She also traveled quite a bit — Cuba, Spain, England, Scotland, France, Alaska, and all over the rest of our country. She rode in a bike tour in the Green Hills of Vermont, and she rode a horse in

the Grand Junction Field Trials when she was in her 40s.

She was a prolific and talented knitter, making sweaters, scarves, hats, baby blankets, and afghans. She also took up trapshooting so she could enjoy the sport with her husband.

She was involved in the Germantown Women’s Club and was one of the founders of the Germantown Community Theatre. Betty leaves three children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. ’49 William “Bill” Cunningham Douglas of Memphis, TN, March 9, 2021. Bill was born on June 27, 1926, in Arlington, TN. He graduated from Rhodes College and began his lifelong career in the insurance business. In 1950, he married the love of his life, Peggy Parsons, and built a great life together for 68 years. He rarely missed a Sunday at Second Presbyterian church, and greatly enjoyed Sandy Willson’s Amen Bible Study group in later years. He was an active member of Chickasaw Country Club and loved golf, as well as traveling. Most of all, Bill loved his family and friends. He could light up any gathering with his enthusiasm and great sense of humor and made new friends wherever he went. Known as “Papa” or “Nandy” to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he was treasured by them all. He showered his family with love, care, and generosity, and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his three children, eight grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. ’49 Virginia Louise Archer Presley of Memphis, TN, March 1, 2021. Louise was born on May 3, 1924. She graduated from Central High School and attended Rhodes College. Through her career, Louise worked as assistant secretary to Mayor Watkins Overton during his term in the early 1950s. She also worked at the YWCA and at Plough, Inc. She was a life-long member of the Memphis Junior League and of the Junior League Garden Club. Louise was a member of Independent Presbyterian Church. She had a great sense of humor. She loved music, dancing, and travel. She was a treasure trove of Memphis history. Louise loved to tell stories of Memphis from earlier decades. She usually included Cotton Carnival events and dancing at the Peabody. ’49 Martha Ann Smothers Carroll of Normal, IL, March 19, 2021. Martha was born April 5, 1927, in Bells, TN. “Bunt,” the nickname given her by her father as an infant, grew up in the small town of Bells, not far from Memphis.

She attended the local school where she developed her passion for books and reading. Her college life began at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson TN, but later she transferred to Rhodes College where she received a BA in English. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. After graduation, she married Conrad E. Carroll in 1949. He died in 1980. Her Illinois teaching career began in Stanford and continued with the consolidation of Olympia High School.

She taught for 24 years and during this time she attended ISU in the summers and obtained an MA in English. After retiring in 1983, she volunteered at the Loaves and Fishes

81

soup kitchen for 18 years. Martha was active in the Episcopal Church at Christ the King and at St. Matthew’s, serving as a vestry member, lector, chalice bearer, and on the Outreach Committee. She especially enjoyed the Thursday morning prayer group.

She took art lessons and continued to paint and draw for many years. And she was devoted to her many dogs through the years. At the time of her death her one cat, Alex, stayed in the hospital bed with her.

Martha is survived by her wonderful children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who filled her life with hope, joy, and love. ’51 Mary Louise Barton Pritchard of Memphis, TN, October 27, 2020. She was born December 29, 1929.

She graduated from Miss Hutchison’s School and Rhodes College. She also received her master’s degree from Memphis State University. She is survived by her grandson and her great grandchildren. ’51 John J. Thomason of Memphis, TN, December 24, 2020. Born July 28, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri, “Buddy” moved with his family to Memphis in 1939 and attended Memphis public schools: Idlewild, Fairview Jr. High, and Central High School, then Rhodes College. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee, College of Law in 1952, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Tennessee Law Review, president of the University of Tennessee graduating class of 1952, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and one of eleven university seniors named “Torchbearer.” After graduation from law school he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served for two years as assistant staff judge advocate at VII Corps Headquarters, Kelley Barracks, Germany. While in Germany he met Sally Palmer of Bakersfield, California, who was then an exchange student in Stockholm, Sweden. They were married in Bakersfield on June 24, 1956. Back in Memphis, John served for two years as the assistant public defender for Shelby County and an assistant city attorney for Memphis. Then he co-founded the law firm Thomason, Crawford and Hendrix, which grew to 35 lawyers and had been renamed Thomason, Hendrix, Johnson & Mitchell when John retired in 2002. In 2014 the Thomason-Hendrix firm merged with Lewis-King law firm to create the firm of Lewis-Thomason with 91 lawyers and offices in Knoxville, Sevierville, Nashville, and Memphis. John was president of the Young Lawyers of Memphis and of Tennessee, and chairman of the 17,000-member General Practice Section of the American Bar Association. In 1967 he received the Sam Myar Award that is given each year to an attorney younger than 40 years old who has “rendered outstanding personal service to the Memphis and Shelby County legal

82

profession and community,” and was the recipient of the Judge Jerome Turner “Lawyer’s Lawyer” award in 2002. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Memphis Chapter of the American Inns of Court, a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the International Association of Defense Counsel and in 1995 a visiting professor of advocacy at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville.Yet, his leadership and service also influenced the lives of those outside the legal profession. In 1955, he was founder and first president of what is now the Phoenix Club of Memphis, which sponsored the establishment of the Boys (and later Girls) Club of Memphis. The Phoenix Club recently created the “John J. Thomason Leadership Award,” now presented annually to one of its members. He was a founding president of the Memphis Arts Council board and also helped organize and was the first president of the Central Gardens Area Association and of the Mud Island Foundation. In 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, John joined with other influential Memphians to found the Counterpart Club of black and white community leaders. He served on the Advisory Board of the First American Bank and was actively involved in local and national politics. On his retirement in 2002, he founded and became chief navigator of the Memphis Compass Club for “retirees seeking new direction.” Also, in retirement, he authored Lieutenant, Your Cap’s on Backward, a memoir of his experiences as an Army lawyer in Germany during the Cold War, Bluff City Barristers, an illustrated history of the Memphis legal community, and Inadmissible Evidence, which was inspired by one of his lawsuits.Professionally and civically John Thomason leaves a lasting legacy. With the nickname “Mr. Do,” and the catch phrase “Book it,” Buddy lived fully into the travels, music, cooking, and craftsmanship that he enjoyed. He challenged himself to learn a variety of skills and create experiences that would expand his horizons, add to his creativity or appeal to his love of just good fun. He prioritized travel with his wife Sally, his children, and his grandchildren, as a way to appreciate, experience, and engage in the rich possibilities the world has to offer. He learned to fly and earned his pilot license in middle age and became a master sailor in his retirement, so he, Sally, his family and friends could sail the world — taking trips to New Zealand, Australia, Tonga, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Brittany, Finland, and the British Isles. At home, sing-alongs with Buddy strumming on his baritone ukulele were a key part of family gatherings, as was the fresh “Buddy bread” that he baked on weekends, often while listening and singing along to the soundtracks of Broadway musicals. When his daughters married,

he wrote and sang songs to them at their rehearsal dinners.

The Escher-style paintings and the furniture he built decorate his family’s dwellings. An avid tennis player, he was a member of the University Club for more than 50 years.

And as a member of Idlewild Presbyterian Church, he was a Sunday School teacher, a deacon, and a ruling elder. John shared his life with Sally for more than 64 years. He leaves behind his family including his beautiful children and grandchildren. ’52 Kenneth Berryhill of Memphis, TN, July 13, 2020.

Born in Jackson, TN, and raised in Memphis, Kenneth attended Idlewild and Snowden schools, Central High School, and Evergreen Presbyterian Church. While still in high school, Ken was hired as one of the original on-air personalities at WDIA, even signing the station on the air its first day of broadcast in 1947. He worked there during the summers throughout college, becoming friends with a young B.B. King and working alongside such luminaries as Nat D. Williams and Rufus Thomas. While at Lambuth College in Jackson, his show Ken Calling on WTJS was the most popular in the market. It featured comic voices, sound effects, and other zany antics twenty years before “gonzo” deejays like Rick Dees. Local kids came to the radio station to watch him do his show, including a 14-year-old Wink Martindale, who has long acknowledged that Ken Berryhill inspired him to go into show biz. After transferring to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Ken worked at WSM radio and TV, where he became friends with many of the Grand Ole Opry stars. He also ran a pirate radio station out of his Vanderbilt dorm room that led to the founding of WRVU, which is still in operation today. After two years in the Army, Ken was hired as a producer/director at WMC Channel 5, the new NBC affiliate in Memphis. He not only produced the original Looney Zoo kids show, he also served as the puppeteer! Ken went on to manage radio stations in Mississippi for the Mutual Broadcasting System, then served as director of public relations at Rhodes College. In later years he supported his family as an agent for Pan-American Life Insurance Company, but he continued to write, produce, and perform radio shows into his 80s. In 2019 he was inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame. He met Mary Lea Morris ’68 while at Lambuth, and in 1954 they were wed in her hometown of Ripley, TN. They were happily married for more than 58 years until her death in 2013 at the age of 79. He leaves behind two sons and many cousins. ’52, P’87, GP’12 Shirley Burdick Springfield of Memphis, TN, January 27, 2021. She is survived by her three children, including Sidney Evans P’12; Jim Springfield ’87; her sister; four grandchildren, including Robert Evans ’12; three nieces; and one nephew. Shirley graduated from Germantown High School and attended Rhodes College and Memphis State University. As a young adult, she taught school at South Park Elementary in Memphis and at a

school in New Orleans. Later in life, she worked at Goldsmith’s and Woolf Brothers department stores in Memphis.

Most of her life she spent as a homemaker. She loved her children and grandchildren fiercely and never shied away from voicing her opinion — even while maintaining a lovely smile and quiet Southern drawl. ’52 Sara Kay Bradley Braswell of Memphis, TN, February 25, 2021. Sara was born in Memphis on January 12, 1929.

She attended Memphis State University and Rhodes College.

She was a former Delta Air Lines flight attendant and was employed by University of Southern Mississippi at Gulf Park as academic secretary to the dean and as secretary to the director of scheduling. The family moved to Long Beach, MS, in 1963 and relocated to Acworth, GA, in 2005. She belonged to the First Methodist Church of Long Beach, where she was active and served on various committees and was a member of the Administration Board. She was instrumental in starting the church library and was a member of the Good News Sunday School Class and the Oaks Organization. She was a former member of the Gulf Coast Art Association, Gulfport Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Long Beach Garden Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, and Ladies Auxiliary. She belonged to Kennesaw United Methodist Church where she was a member of the Elton Adams Sunday School Class, New Beginnings Church Circle Class, and the Happy Voyagers Group. She leaves one son, two grandsons, and a great-grandson. She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. ’54 Ray U. Tanner of Jackson, TN, November 10, 2020. Mr. Tanner was born in Shreveport, LA, on December 2, 1931.

He moved to Tennessee upon enrolling at Rhodes College where he met his love and future wife, Margaret Kathryn “Kakky” Tanner ’57. He graduated with a BA degree in 1954 and promptly joined the United States Marine Corps, where he was commissioned as an officer. He served three years on active duty as a first lieutenant and upon his release from active duty served another 25 years in the active reserves, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. During this time, he commanded Marines at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. Ray took great pride in the USMC and actively supported the Corps throughout his entire life.

While continuing his service in the active reserves, Ray began his career in the banking industry. In 1970, after ten years of employment at the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, Ray, Kakky and their four children — Hugh C. Tanner, Philip Whitsitt Tanner, Camille Tanner Jones and Julie Tanner Hussey — moved to Jackson, TN, where he served as president and COO of the Second National Bank, known today as Bankcorp South. Later, he was elected chairman and CEO, serving the institution for 26 years. Ray also held many different extracurricular industry positions throughout his career. He served as president of the Tennessee Bankers Association, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank Board of the Eighth District, St.

83

Louis, MO, and the Federal Reserve Bank Board, Memphis. He also served as a beloved member of the American Bankers Association, where he represented the association as a spokesperson in radio, television, and newspaper publicity. Ray always saw “service before self,” as seen in his many community involvements. He worked tirelessly for local organizations, including United Way, RIFA, and many others. He served as president of the Jackson Rotary Club, chairman of United Way of Jackson, and a member of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation. For his many accomplishments and after years of service on their Board of Trustees, his alma mater, Rhodes College, bestowed on him the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004. Above his many career successes, Ray’s greatest pride and dearest love was for his Christian faith and service to the Presbyterian Church (USA). He served faithfully as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson as well as in many additional denominational leadership roles. He chaired the Presbyterian Church (Southern) Board of Annuities and Relief prior to its merger with the Northern Church, the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the New Covenant Trust Company, as well as the Presbyterian (USA) Foundation, the oldest church philanthropy in America, est. 1798. He also served two terms as moderator for the Memphis Presbytery (PCUSA), today known as the Presbytery of the Midsouth. Ray is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Kakky ’57, their children, son-in-law Ralph Jones ’79, and many other family members. ’54 David Myers Morris of Jackson, MS, February 5, 2021. He was born in New Augusta, MS, on September 8, 1932, to Audrey Myers and Dewey Chesley Morris. After graduating from New Augusta High School, he earned his degree in English, with honors, from Rhodes College, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. After Army service in Germany during the Korean war, he earned a degree in banking and finance from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. While there, he met his wife of 52 years, Marjorie Hess Morris, at the Hattiesburg library, where they both worked. He retired from a career-long tenure with the Mississippi Employment Security Commission in Jackson. A lifelong Presbyterian, he was most recently a member of Fondren Presbyterian Church in Jackson. An avid book collector, he enjoyed historical architecture and garden design, art, antiques, museums, travel, and crossword puzzles. He is survived by his wife and their sons.

84

’54 Beverly Brothers Stancil of Memphis, TN, February 2, 2021. She was born March 18, 1932, in Memphis. She loved music and enjoyed singing solos

in many churches in Memphis. She was also a soloist at Trinity Methodist Church in Little Rock and Clinton Methodist Church in Clinton, AR. Beverly attended Rhodes College and graduated from Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis. She was married to Dr. Clark Stancil for 61 years. Her retirement was in 1993 from the American Red Cross.

She was an avid seamstress, gardener, traveler, and a wonderful cook who enjoyed entertaining friends and family. Beverly was survived by her son and granddaughters. ’54, P’80, P’81 Robert Irl Bourne of Camden, TN, February 7, 2021. He was born on August 28, 1932.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his oldest sister, Barbara Bourne Davis, his oldest son, Robert Irl Bourne III ’80, and grandson, Jonathan Michael Bourne. His beloved wife of 61 years, Anne Riley Bourne ’54, died September 25, 2016. Bob was born in Nashville, TN, and moved to Mt. Pleasant, TN, in 1937. He was well liked in school with the same kindness and sense of humor which carried him through life. He was voted class president three times, named Tennessee State President of the Beta Club, and was active in the Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Hay Long High School, receiving a scholarship to Rhodes College, where he met Anne. He graduated from UT Medical School at age 23 on December 19 and married Anne on December 23, 1955. They left for Oklahoma and his internship at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa where their oldest son was born. He joined the United States Air Force and grew to love flying. He served two years at Warner Robbins, GA, before moving to Camden. He joined W. H. Blackburn, MD and J.S Butterworth, MD to practice medicine back in his home state of Tennessee. Later, John H. Overall joined the partnership. Bob served several terms as chief of staff of the local hospital and was on the Benton County Board of Health for more than 30 years. He enjoyed practicing medicine for 58 years and missed his patients after retiring at age 81. He enjoyed the art of healing and cared deeply about the people who came to see him. He was involved in the PTA, was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and was a certified Scuba diver. He enjoyed several Scuba adventures with his youngest son, John, while Anne enjoyed glass-bottomed boats and breathing above water. Bob was a Republican, a life member of the NRA, and a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society, being devoted to Benton County Relay for Life for many years. He served as an elder for a time in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Being an Eagle Scout, Bob worked with Camden Troop 72, hiked Philmont with his oldest son and several troop members, and was camp doctor for Camp Mack Morris. In 1977, he received

the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to the Boy Scouts. He is survived by his son and daughter, Elizabeth Webb ’81. He is also survived by two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. ’55 Martha Spruell Pipkin of New Albany, MS, November 27. Martha was born in Russellville, AL, on August 18, 1934, to Dr. Hugh and Lucille Spruell. She attended Ward Belmont High School in Nashville, TN, and received a bachelor’s degree in music from Rhodes College. In 1954, Martha married Joe Pipkin of Memphis, TN, where she became active in the Memphis Opera Guild, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Beethoven Club, and the Camarata Club. She founded a fitness program called Shape Up With Martha, which began in a church basement with a handful of ladies and grew into a national franchise. The Shape Up With Martha tv program aired for decades on Memphis Cablevision. She sang soprano for over 20 years in the Grace St. Luke’s Episcopal choir, then for another decade in the Independent Presbyterian Church choir. She leaves behind one sister and three daughters, as well as seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. ’55 Dr. Keith K. Wong of Philadelphia, PA, December 17, 2020. Born in Hong Kong, Keith came to the United States in 1953. He lived in Memphis, TN, Boston, MA, and Bloomfield, NJ, moving to Milltown in 1969. He relocated to Philadelphia three years ago. Keith was a biochemist, spending a long career in the pharmaceutical industry specializing in drug metabolism. He worked with Schering, ER Squibb, and finally Carter Wallace in Cranbury, NJ, before he retired. He has a PhD in biochemistry from NYU, an MBA from Monmouth College, and a BS from Rhodes College. Keith was active in the Boy Scouts Troop 33 as an assistant scoutmaster. He was an avid tennis player, organizing many groups of players in the area. In particular, he managed and organized the Chinese American Cultural Association (CACA) Tennis club. In addition, Keith was an avid classical music fan attending numerous concerts and operas, and an avid amateur photographer. He is predeceased by his wife, May-Yuen Wong, who passed away in July 2020. He is survived by his children and other family members.

‘56 Dorothy Jean Johnson Sales of Jonesboro, AR, October 15, 2020. She is survived by her children and grandchildren. Dorothy attended Rhodes College and the University of Mississippi. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority and was selected Miss Arkansas Congeniality in 1953. She had been an active member of the First United Methodist Church since 1960, having served on the board of trustees and longtime chairman of the Worship Commission and Altar Guild. Dorothy served as president of the Chapter BN of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, president of the 20th Century Club, president of the Arkansas State University Faculty Women’s Association, chaplain of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, vice president

and program chairman of the Confederacy, and a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union. She served as property manager for the Taylor-Fussell family of Forrest City, AR, for 35 years. She loved her husband, children, and grandchildren dearly. She was a strong supporter of Arkansas State University where her husband served as a professor and dean for 31 years and all her children received undergraduate and graduate degrees. ’56 Gwendolyn Warren Box of Brandon, TN, March 3, 2021. In her wake, she leaves a legacy of joy and love that touched her many friends and family. Gwen married Kenneth Box in 1981 and blended their families together. Both were devout Christians. They eventually retired to the Brandon area where they were long-time members of Crossgates Baptist Church and were active in various ministries and senior activities. During their marriage they enjoyed gardening and taking numerous trips and cruises with their many friends. In her later years she enjoyed the fellowship of the Red Hats, her Prime Timers, keeping up with friends by telephone, and “neighborhood garage sitting.” Gwen was born in Jackson, MS, and spent her entire life in the Jackson area. She graduated from Central High School and later from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She enjoyed a successful career in the medical records field starting at St. Dominic’s Hospital. She later transferred her talents to Hinds Junior (Community) College in Raymond, MS, to train future medical record technicians. She finished her career as a health information management consultant for the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. ’57 Harriet Byrd O’Neal of Jonesboro, AR, November 10, 2020. She was born in Memphis, TN, in 1935. Harriet was a dedicated member of First Presbyterian Church where she spent nearly 60 years playing organ and accompanying the choir. When she wasn’t at the church you could often find her outside of her beloved home gardening, doing yard work, or playing with her dogs; or inside doing crossword puzzles, making deserts, or playing jazz music on one of her two grand pianos. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren at Norfork Lake and entertaining guests in her home, but at the end of the day you could always find her watching the 10 o’clock news. Harriet attended Wynne Senior High School and graduated as valedictorian. She continued to Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, to get her bachelor’s and then to Eastmond School of Music in Rochester, NY, where she received her master’s in only one year. She worked at Arkansas State University as a music instructor for over 30 years and in that time she founded and accompanied the Over the Hill Gang and performed with the North East Arkansas Symphony and the Dixieland Band. She served as accompanist and director for Temple Israel which won the Jewish Federation Tikkun Obama “Mend the World” award after serving them over 50 years. Throughout her lifetime she performed thousands of recitals and accompanied many

85

notable figures including Bob Hope and Bill Clinton.

Her passion and work was always music, specifically the piano and organ, and she integrated this into every aspect of her life. ’58 Dr. Henry M. Wadsworth, Jr. of Hernando, MS, November 21, 2020. Dr. Henry, as he was called by his many patients, was also known as “Little Doc” when he was growing up in Hernando, MS, as the son of Dr. H. M. Wadsworth and Ruth Wadsworth.

He graduated from Hernando High School in 1955 and graduated from Rhodes College with a BS degree in Biology. While at Rhodes he was a member of Chi Beta Phi (the honorary science fraternity) and served as a lab assistant in the biology labs. In July 1958 he entered medical school at the University of Tennessee, where he graduated in the top three of his class and was admitted to Alpha Omega Alpha, the honorary medical scholastic fraternity. In October 1961 after graduation from med school in September, he then served a year of rotating internship at the old John Gaston Hospital that became the City of Memphis Hospital and then the Regional Medical Center (now Regional One). In October of 1952, Dr. Henry entered medical practice with his father. Since there was no hospital in DeSoto County at that time, the Wadsworth Clinic was very similar to an emergency room. Dr. Henry and his father delivered babies in the clinic until 1972. He also made house calls and many times remarked that he would meet people in the office in the middle of the night and even make night house calls way out in the fields. Circumstances in our society would not allow this to happen today.

Dr. Henry practiced for 14 years with his son, Dr. William Wadsworth, who now operates Wadsworth Clinic. Dr. Henry retired in January 2010 after 48 years. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Hernando for 40 years. He served as president and was honored to be a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a lifelong member of the Hernando United Methodist Church, where one of the things he enjoyed most was singing in the Chancel Choir for many years. He served as lay leader for seven years and as chairman of the Board of Stewards. Dr. Henry served in the United States Army Reserve Medical Corp and completed his service with an honorable discharge in 1968. He leaves behind his wife, Myrtis, whom he loved and cherished until his dying day, a marriage truly made in Heaven and lasting 38 years, his sons, and grandchildren.

86

’58 Louise Morrison Kennon of Helena, MT, February 7, 2021. Louise was born in Mount Holly, AR, to Grace Manning Morrison and Lewis Morrison, a Presbyterian minister. Louise graduated from high school in Prattville, AL, as valedictorian. She attended two years at Rhodes College, majoring in

mathematics. She married and had three daughters. After divorcing, Louise lived in Houston, and had a successful career in the drafting department at Houston Lighting and Power. Louise was active in her church, serving on various committees and serving as an elder at Christ Church Presbyterian in Bellaire, TX. Church activities and community were a great joy for her. Louise is survived by her brother, her three daughters, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

‘59 Glenn T. Batten of Summerville, SC, October 4, 2020. Glenn was born November 20, 1937, in Jackson, TN. He graduated from Jackson High School in 1955, attended Rhodes College in Memphis, and graduated from Memphis University in 1958. Attending as the first recipient of the Municipal League Fellowship, Glenn graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1960 with a master’s degree in city planning. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Wake Forest University in 1978. Glenn worked in city and municipal planning from 1960 until 2006 and enjoyed a follow-on career as a real estate agent, retiring from Carolina One Real Estate in Summerville, SC, in 2012. In retirement, Glenn spent much of his time researching and writing on urban planning of ancient civilizations. He was a long-time member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Rotary International, and Kiwanis International. Glenn was also a member of Bethany Methodist Church in Summerville. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Anne Williams Batten ’60, four sons, eight grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren. ’59 Dr. Charles T. Ames III of Jackson, TN, December 9, 2020. Charles is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marilynn Smith Ames ’60, his children and his grandchildren. He donated his body to Union University. Charles obtained all the necessary credits in three years from Rhodes College then transferred to UT Dental School. He met the love of his life, Marilynn, at Rhodes and they married on July 2, 1961. Charles served in the U.S. Navy for two years and was stationed in Camp Lejuene NC, a US Marine base. They returned to Holly Springs for a few years where Charles opened a private practice. In 1968, he and his family moved to Jackson, TN, and joined Dental Associates until he retired in 1992.

Charles was a committed member, deacon, and elder at The First Presbyterian Church. He lived out his faith every day and left a legacy of love, kindness, grace, and generosity to people of all walks of life. ’59, P’87, P’90, GP’20 Diane McMillan Wellford of Memphis, TN, November 6, 2019. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Walker Lewis Wellford

III ’59 of Memphis and two children, Lauren Wellford Deming ’87 (husband Dr. Will Deming) of Portland, OR, and Walker L. Wellford IV ’90 (wife Cheryl Dakin Wellford) of Atlanta, GA. She also leaves five grandsons: David and Jonathan Deming ’20, and Walker, William, and Jack Wellford. She was predeceased by her brother, Hugh Laurens McMillan. She is also survived by sister-in-law Sharon McMillan, niece Kim McMillan Norton, nephew Alan McMillan, and a large extended family. She graduated from Little Rock Central High School, where she served as vice president of the student body and earned a scholarship to attend Rhodes College. While earning her BA in history, she was an active student, serving on the Sou’wester newspaper staff, as a Kinney Program volunteer, and as a class officer.

She was president of Chi Omega, the sweetheart of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and was voted Miss Southwestern. Diane loved teaching, and during her 20-year career she worked at Snowden Elementary, St. George’s Day School, and the Shrine School, where her passion for teaching children with disabilities led her to earn a master’s degree in special education from the University of Memphis. In 1990 she was honored as Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Humanities Council. For several years she served as a VISTA volunteer, helping start the Metropolitan Interfaith Association (MIFA)’s home-delivered meals program, and as a volunteer through the Memphis Junior League. She enjoyed being an alumnae advisor to the Chi Omega chapter at Rhodes for many years. She was raised in a Christian home and at the time of her death had been a member of Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis, for 61 years. At Idlewild she was an ordained elder, an officer in Presbyterian Women, and a founder of the church’s daycare center. Through the years at Idlewild she particularly enjoyed her women’s circle, serving on the wedding committee and attending family camp at NaCoMe. She dearly loved her church family.

Diane excelled at encouraging people. She was gracious, giving, loving, and a great listener. She enjoyed cheering on the Memphis Grizzlies, reading good books, and snacking whenever she felt like it. ’59, P’85 Margaret Lynn Jaseph Jones of Memphis, TN, March 31, 2021. Lynn was the daughter of Carrie Hansen and Lawrence Jaseph, Wisconsin transplants who built a life in depression-era Memphis with their three children, Bob (Lynne), Lynn, and Helen. A lifelong Memphian, she graduated from East High School in 1955 and earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in 1959. The following year she married her college sweetheart, Marshall Phillip Jones ’59, and together they raised their two sons in the Bluff City, John ’85 (Anne ’88) and Ken (Vivian).

Lynn was passionate about learning, live music, art, nature, and giving back. Her endless curiosity led her to return to Rhodes as an adult to audit classes in a myriad of subjects, including art history, physics, and history. She regularly attended live concerts at venues large and small, enjoying Bach and bluegrass with equal fervor. She was a fixture at

pottery and folk art shows, and an avid collector of Baucum Pottery. Lynn was equally at home on her patio or sitting at the shore on Tybee Island, enjoying the beauty in every natural setting she found herself occupying. Her compassion for those on the margins led her to work — and volunteer — for MIFA for decades. She also supported a number of nonprofit organizations dedicated to the causes closest to her heart, including the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Services of Memphis, and Memphis Botanic Garden. Lynn reserved her greatest passion, however, for her four grandchildren: Frances (Forrest Sable), Phillip, Caroline, and Marshall.

These four were her heart and she loved spending time with them. Whether it was a walk outdoors, a trip to the beach, playing a board game, or reading a story, she was an active participant in their lives and she was incredibly proud of the men and women they have become. She is survived by siblings, sons, their spouses, and children listed above, as well as niece Corey Jaseph (Joe Ehrlich) and nephew Guy Jaseph (Sheri). ’60 Billie Green Patch Martin of Bartlett, TN, October 1, 2020. She grew up in Clarksville and graduated from Clarksville High School in 1956. Billie Green attended Rhodes College, where her mother had been the first female graduate in 1921. Billie Green graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1960 where she was a member of Chi Omega Fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa. She was a member of Germantown Presbyterian Church. She taught at the old Sanga Elementary School before moving with her late husband, Donald Stuart Cunningham, to Memphis. In Memphis, Billie Green substitute-taught at several private schools, later becoming a professional storyteller. ’60, GP’23 Joyce Walne Warner of Nashville, TN, October 7, 2020. Joyce, or Joycie as her husband, Billy, fondly called her, was a majorette at Yazoo High School in Mississippi and Miss Yazoo City two years in a row. She attended Rhodes College in 1956-1957. Soon after, she met the love of her life, James William “Billy” Warner, III, who was best man in her sister Shirley’s wedding. They married just five months later in October 1957 and built a beautiful life together in Nashville, TN, for 57 years. Joyce was a devoted full-time mother of four children until her youngest child was in elementary school. She was an active room mom at The Oak Hill School and Burton Elementary. She spent countless hours with food and clothing drives, volunteered at the Junior League Home for Crippled Children, and participated in Vanderbilt University’s Family Host Program for foreign students. She then dedicated her life to teaching preschool at St. George’s Kindergarten which lasted 40 years. Joyce had an endearing love for children, both hers and others. She was fondly known as “Mrs. Warner” around Nashville. Chances are she taught you, your child, or someone in your family. She hosted summer camps at her home and after-school playgroups for four- and five-year-old girls for 35 years. She was passionate about teaching, reading, and making a difference in each child’s

87

life. She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, James William “Billy” Warner III. She is survived by her siblings, children, and grandchildren. ’60 Mary Ann Kimbrough Vollmer of Cordova, TN, December 25, 2020. Mary Ann was born on September 12, 1938 in Memphis, TN. Mary Ann attended Snowden and Central High School in Memphis, TN. She attended Louisiana State University and Rhodes College, where she was an active member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. In 1960, she married Richard F. Vollmer and they had two children. She was an active member of her church, Shady Grove Presbyterian, and served as a founding member of the Cordova Community Center Board. She was an active participant in the Senior Olympics through 2019. After a career in real estate, she enjoyed helping Fields Estate Sales during her retirement years. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to all who knew her and will be greatly missed. ’60 Nadine McKinley Runsick of Jonesboro, AR, December 13, 2020. Born in Shreveport, LA, Nadine grew up there and was a graduate of Rhodes College.

She moved to Jonesboro in 1963 and taught elementary school for many years in the Jonesboro-Trumann area. She was a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church of Jonesboro where she was a past elder and deacon of the Church Session. For several years she served as a Sunday school teacher and was active in the Ladies Circles Bible study groups. She taught water aerobics for many years at the Trim Gym. Survivors include her husband, Jerry, their children, and grandchildren. ’61 Marion Hardy McAden of Memphis, TN, March 11, 2021. Born on April 27, 1939, she is survived by her two grown children and two grandchildren. Marion attended Rhodes College and was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. She became an elementary school teacher and later retired to spend time with her beloved husband, children, and later grandchildren. Marion was an active member of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Memphis, TN, where she was also a member of Barth Sanders Gild and the women’s ministry for over 50 years. ’62 Eleanor “Jenny” Jennings Grehan of Memphis, TN, February 11, 2021. Jenny was born in 1940.

She graduated from the Hutchison School and attended Salem College and Rhodes College. She was a former member of Les Passees, the Little Club, and board member of the Symphony League. She was a member of the Antiquarians, Colonial Dames of America, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Memphis Country Club, and a life member of the Real Estate

88

Multi-Million-Dollar Club. Jenny sold real estate for Coleman-Etter-Fontaine and then the Hobson Company. She was married to the late Maxwell Lucas, Jr., and then married to the late William Grehan. She leaves behind her daughter, Katherine Jennings Lucas Hall, and grandchildren. ’62 Vernon “Buddy” Wise of Hernando, MS, March 4, 2021. Buddy was born December 16, 1939, in Memphis. He graduated from Southside High School and attended Rhodes College and Ole Miss. He graduated from Memphis State University with a business degree and was a CPA. He leaves his children, grandchildren, and many friends and family members behind. ’63 Rebecca “Becky” Barksdale Oliver, of Macon, GA, November 6, 2020. Becky was born in Jackson, MS, on September 30, 1941. She moved to Memphis to attend Rhodes College where she obtained a bachelor of arts. She lived in Athens, GA; Rock Hill, SC; and Spartanburg, SC; before settling in Macon over 50 years ago. Commuting to Milledgeville, she obtained her M.A. from Georgia College and State University. Becky retired after 30 years of teaching. She spent most of those years teaching English, Spanish, French, and Latin at Northside Middle School in Warner Robins. There she touched many children’s lives and developed enduring friendships with her colleagues. One of Becky’s greatest joys was traveling with her husband, Jim. After Jim died, she continued to travel with her daughter and grandchildren. Becky adored her grandchildren and children. She was a reader, a cat-lover, and gardener. Before becoming ill, Becky enjoyed being a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, attending services, and volunteering. ’63 Harry M. “Hal” Moffett of St. Simons, GA, January 28, 2021. He is a native of Kansas City, MO, but resided in St. Simons Island with his wife, Dale Vaughn Rivenbark Moffett, for 12 years. Harry was an active member of the St. Simons Presbyterian Church, where he served as deacon. He went to high school at Ashley High School in Gastonia, NC, and college at Rhodes College. A sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, he was stationed at Camp Lejeune and then later at 8th and I in Washington, DC, where he was a member of the Color Guard and served as rifleman in the funeral procession for President John F. Kennedy, among many other esteemed assignments.

Awards in the Marine Corps include Commendations for Rifle Expert, Pistol Marksman, Certificate of Achievement Good Conduct Metal, and National Defense Service Metal. After the military, he was a career banker for 45 years, where he served as president of several banks and retired at Capital One Bank in Monroe, LA. In retirement, he enjoyed annual

Honor Guard assignments escorting World War II veterans to Washington, DC. He also enjoyed giving tours of the St. Simon’s Lighthouse. Hobbies included reading, fishing, and playing Keno. He is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren. ’64 Joseph Graham, Jr. of Columbia, TN, December 5, 2020. Born in Clarksdale, MS, to the late Joseph Graham and Nancy Abbay Graham, he spent most of his childhood in Columbia, TN. After graduating from Central High School, he attended Rhodes College, and then served his country in the U.S. Air Force. After his service, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service, from which he retired. Joe was a member of Shriners International. He was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church, and in his later years was a member of Graymere Church of Christ. Joe was predeceased by Mary Graham, his loving wife of 43 years, and survived by his children and grandchildren, as well as many family members and friends. ’64 Rev. Richard Lee Hackleman of Memphis, TN, February 17, 2021. Richard was born in Appleton, WI, but spent most of his life in Memphis. He graduated from both Central High School and Rhodes College. Following a successful career in sales, he felt the call to pursue a life in the ministry, inspired by work he had done with The Singles Church in the 1990s. He then attended Memphis Theological Seminary and became an ordained United Methodist Minister. He served on the Gates Circuit, as well as Atoka, Grand Junction, LaGrange, and Holmes. He retired in 2006. Most recently he attended services at Trinity United Methodist Church, his family church growing up. He leaves behind family members, numerous friends, and parishioners he ministered to over the years at the churches he served. ’64 Lynn Drew Bartlett of Sacramento, CA, September 8, 2019. Lynn was born July 23, 1942, in Columbia, TN. She attended colleges both in the United States and Europe.

Highlights of her academic career include two Fulbright Grants and two International Research and Exchange grants. She taught International Studies at various levels for many years. After serving 24 years as an education programs consultant, Lynn retired in 2013 from the California Department of Education. She then promoted study of mission activities of The Presbyterian Church (USA). Lynn is survived by two brothers and ten nieces and nephews. ’65 Rev. Senter Cawthorn Crook of Sewanee, TN, October 12, 2020, after a long, difficult battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was born in Memphis on October 23, 1943, lived most of her life here, and considered it home, returning regularly to visit her children and grandchildren after her move to live more permanently in Sewanee in 2016. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Isaac Joseph McFadden II and many other family members. Senter was an avid, lifelong learner. She was a graduate of Hutchison School and

Rhodes College. She completed certification for clinical pastoral education, briefly attended Memphis Theological Seminary, and later attended and received her MDiv from the University of the South School of Theology. Following that, she pursued her interest in studying the teachings of Carl Jung by completing graduate coursework at the Pacifica Institute for Depth Psychology and participated in the Memphis Jung Training Seminar. When Senter’s children were young and in school, she prioritized and cherished her role as a mother. During that period, she was also involved in every possible way at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, ultimately becoming Calvary’s first director of Christian education. She excelled at all these things, but, nonetheless, had a realization that marked a turning point in her life. She put it this way: Her life task was not to be the best parent, the best wife, the best director of Christian education, but, rather, to be the best Senter she could be in all the roles that life had given her or that she had assumed.

Soon after this realization, Senter chose to become an Episcopal priest with the full support of her then husband, Bruce Taylor, with whom she remained friends until her death.

She faced resistance from many, including the Diocesan Bishop, who had to approve her attendance at seminary but who felt it was not a woman’s place. Yet with determination and the support of family and many of her friends, Senter moved to Sewanee for two years to attend seminary. While a Seminarian, she made many dear friends and became an associate of St. Mary’s Convent. She went on to become the first woman ordained a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee; this marked the beginning of the second half of Senter’s life. Following her ordination, the Reverend Senter Crook was engaged in many ministries. She was a deacon at Calvary Episcopal Church where she was also a lifetime member, as was her mother before her. She served as associate rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles and in various roles with the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mary’s, Grace St. Luke’s Church, and St. George’s Episcopal Church and periodically with other parishes and churches. She also served as a pastoral counselor at the Samaritan Counseling Center for a number of years and later served on the board of directors and, for a period, as its interim executive director. Senter said that counseling individuals was the vocation she enjoyed most in her life. She became deeply interested in the psychology of Carl Jung, and met her husband, Dr. Joe McFadden, an Atlanta-based psychiatrist, and Jungian analyst, through her involvement with Jungian training.

They were married in 1998. After their marriage, Senter and Joe lived for a short period in Fayetteville, NC, and then in New York where Joe served as chief of mental health at the Veterans Administration Hudson Valley Health Care System in Westchester. With her usual determination, Senter soon mastered driving in NYC traffic — rightfully priding herself on her ability to hold her own — and thus allowing her to do supply work for a number of Episcopal parishes in “The Big Apple.” They soon found their way back home to Memphis and lived there until deciding to

89

make Sewanee their home-base in 2016. Senter loved Joe very deeply and was supported by him through the wonderful times and through the very difficult decade of her decline due to Parkinson’s disease. In recent reflections, Senter said that having children gave her the greatest joy and sense of fulfillment in her life. Her children loved her deeply and learned from her wisdom and modeling of how to live fully.

They, along with her grandchildren, will be eternally grateful for her unconditional love throughout their lives. She always liked to say she “gave her children roots and wings,” which she did, together with their father Bruce. Senter had a profound impact on many, many lives. It was her central belief that God is love, and that God loves every single person and accepts them for who they are — unconditionally. When asked, she said that she thought her greatest strength was seeing God in everyone and relating to the God in them. She gave generously, not only of herself, but financially, to causes and organizations that lift up people, promote social justice and help preserve the natural beauty and wonder of our planet. On a lighter note, Senter was a fabulous cook, a gracious host, and could make any occasion lovely. She had a great sense of humor and wit and could really deliver a joke well! Parkinson’s disease made the last decade of her life very difficult, but she faced it with courage and few complaints. When asked by her children in her final days if she was afraid, she shook her head and mouthed, “No.” Her final hours were peaceful with her children and husband and dear caregivers doting on her. She gave us all the gift of having written her own burial and funeral services some years ago — a beautiful gift that gave back to her in the end. She invited us to read it to her in her final hours, which we did, while she gazed out the window from her bed at the beautiful mountains of the Cumberland Plateau. When we asked if she would change anything, she shook her head and mouthed, “No.” ’66 Dr. James G. Place II, of Memphis, TN, October 16, 2020. This beloved man had many names: Dr. Place, Jim, Jimmy, Son, Brother, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Friend — all uttered with love. Jim was born on November 5, 1944, at the U.S. Navy Hospital in Portsmouth, VA. He graduated from high school at Memphis University School, then from Rhodes College and University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He was active in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity while obtaining his degree in biology at Rhodes and was awarded his medical license in the State of Tennessee in March 1970, beginning a long, rewarding, and stellar career in radiology. After completing a rotating internship at Baylor University Medical Center, Jim was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves,

90

where he served with distinction until 1979. He distinguished himself throughout his storied career. He was certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology (1982), a member of the American College of Radiology and The Radiology Society of North America, full partner in Knoxville Radiology Group, chief of radiology at Parkwest Hospital 1985-1996, and honored with the Golden Graduate Award from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis in 2017. In August 23, 1973, Jim married his love, Judy, and they had a long and happy marriage, raising two wonderful children. The family loved to travel, including numerous trips with friends and family to various national parks as well as Moab, UT. Memorable scuba-diving trips in the Caribbean, and a family vacation in Switzerland with his sister Charmian and family were examples of his planning of events for his family. In the 1990s, Jim and Judy loved planning their “dream” home and making it a reality for their family gatherings. Jim’s love for all things UT basketball and football left lasting memories of seasons of games together. After retirement in 2007, Jim visited many places with family and friends throughout the United States, as well as many countries including Mexico, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Ireland, England, France, and a river cruise through Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Jim visited the Holy Land in 2012 where he was re-baptized in the Jordan River. He is survived by numerous family members and friends. ’67 Emilie Lois Goldberger Ratner of Memphis, TN, January 6, 2021. Emilie was a graduate of Central High School. She attended Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and returned to Memphis and graduated from Memphis State University.

Emilie was very active in the civil rights movement in Memphis. Her former husband, the late Marvin L. Ratner, credited her as being his motivating force behind his establishing the first integrated law firm in the South, along with his partners, the late Honorable Russell Sugarmon and others. Emilie worked for the Girl Scout Council, where she wrote a grant that made it possible for the Tenn-Ark-Miss Council to be integrated, allowing thousands of Black girls to join the Girl Scouts for the first time. As a result of her involvement in a national literary group, Great Books, Emilie was invited to teach an adult education class on Women’s Literature at Rhodes College. Emilie was treasurer of the Wolf River Society, a unique, integrated social club in the 1960s. She worked as an accountant for President Johnson’s War on Poverty, MIFA, the Alliance for the Blind, Temple Israel, and has participated in many volunteer activities including driving for God’s Unfinished Business and Mitzvah Day at Temple Israel, and her most recent activity — knitting over 2,000 bears for the Temple

Sisterhood’s Mother Bear Project for children in Africa affected by HIV. Emilie is survived by her long-term partner, Harold, and three children, two grandchildren, and a large extended family. ’70 Anne Rogers Russell of Memphis, TN, February 7, 2021. Anne grew up on Peabody Avenue and was a lifelong Memphian. She attended Idlewild Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Central High School. During this time, she also graduated from the DeShazo School of Music, where she developed her love and talent for music. She studied organ at Rhodes College, where she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority. On August 31, 1968, Anne married Bill Russell, and they shared a 52-year-long loving marriage.

Anne’s love of music defined her entire life. She served as organist at Lamar Heights Baptist Church, Cherry Road Baptist Church, and Kingsway Christian Church. She played with the Germantown Symphony, the Memphis Redbirds, the Sara Beth Causey Chorale, and the choir at Ridgeway High School. She could be heard from the pit playing for many musicals at Theatre Memphis, Playhouse on the Square, and numerous schools throughout the Memphis area. She also taught piano to hundreds of students both privately and in city schools. After she retired from teaching, Anne’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and she owned and operated Tinker Tunes and Balloons for 15 years. Anne loved traveling the world, entertaining friends, and mostly spending time with her family. She leaves behind her husband, Bill, and four children, including Amy Russell Lindeman ’93 (Henry ’92) and Dr. Andy Russel ’95. She also leaves nine grandchildren. ’71 Lynda Campbell Penny of Memphis, TN, December 20, 2020. Lynda was retired from the VA Hospital where she worked as a social worker for over 40 years. She received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College and her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. Lynda leaves her daughter, one grandson on the way, her mother, and sister. ’71 Dr. John R. Satterwaite of Greeneville, SC, November 2, 2020. John was born on September 29, 1949, in Clarksburg, WV. He graduated from Rhodes College and continued his education at the Medical College of Georgia, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine with a specialty in anesthesiology. Throughout his life and career, John touched the lives of so many. In 1978, he served as an assistant professor of anesthesiology for the Department of Anesthesiology at the Medical College of Georgia Hospitals and Clinics. John then worked briefly in private practice in Albany, GA, before moving with his family to Greenville where he opened his private practice for anesthesiology and pain management. During that time, he simultaneously served as the medical director for the Center for Health and Occupational Services. In 1999, he joined the Carolinas Center for the Advanced Management of Pain, where he worked until his retirement in 2015. John was always willing to give of his time to his family and to his community. He

served as the medical director for Vistacare Hospice from 1997-1999, helping patients with end-of-life care. He served as both a Cub Scout leader and Boy Scout leader for Troop 260, served on the board of directors for the Foothills District of the Blue Ridge Council, and was a member of the Presbyterian Scouters. He attended four National Boy Scout Jamborees, serving as one of the staff physicians. He also coached his daughter’s church basketball team. John and his family were members of the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Greenville, where he served on the diaconate and as a session member. He served on the Missions and Outreach committee and was a member and teacher for the Koinonia Sunday School class. He could frequently be seen as an usher at the early service. Later in life, John was able to devote more time to researching his family history and genealogy. As the eldest son, he was careful to preserve the Satterthwaite Family history, ensuring centuries’ worth of records, bibles, and photographs would be preserved and passed down to the next generation. He was diligent in his quest to document the lineage for each branch of his family, working his way back to the 1500s and the village of Satterthwaite in the Lake District in Northern England. He was most proud of his acceptance into the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He took great joy in sharing what he knew about his family heritage. He instilled in his children the importance of family and knowing who you are and where you come from. He always had time to talk to friends, and loved hunting trips, fishing, and time with family. John is survived by his wife, Sharon, children, grandchildren, and other beloved friends and family. ’72 Clayton P. Farrar of Hot Springs, AR, February 27, 2021. He was born and raised in Hot Springs. Clayton was retired, having previously been a partner in the Hot Springs law firm of Farrar and Williams PLLC. Like his father and his grandfather, Clay specialized in trust and estate planning matters. He was a graduate of Rhodes College and SMU Law School. Clay is survived by his wife of 40 years, Kathy, and his daughters and sister. Since the 1980s Clay was active in community affairs including having served as president of the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, National Park Rotary Club, and the Hot Springs 50 for the future. Farrar led efforts in the 1980s to revitalize the National Park in Hot Springs and was instrumental in procuring federal funds for the redevelopment of the Fordyce Bathhouse as the National Park Visitor Center. In the last several decades, Clay has written extensively about local history including over a dozen articles in the Garland County Historical Society’s annual publication. He has also written a monthly column about Hot Springs history for the Hot Springs Sentinel Record. He was a member of the Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club for over 42 years and served as annual program chairperson for five years. ’75 Jeffery M. Hudgins of Memphis, TN, January 16, 2021.

Jeff was born in Memphis, TN, while his father was attending medical school. After a short stint in Panama with baby

91

Jeff in arms, Doctor and Mrs. Hudgins moved to Nashville, TN, to set up a medical practice. Jeff grew up on the banks of the Cumberland River in East Nashville. He attended Isaac Litton High School where he lettered in football and cruised Shoney’s in his 1969 Boss Mustang. After high school, Jeff matriculated to Southwestern at Memphis, where he immediately became a much-beloved and wellknown member of the campus community. A natural athlete, he excelled at intramural sports, became a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, and majored in international studies under his mentor, Col. David Likes. Jeff never met a stranger and found friends in every group on campus. It is no coincidence that he was elected “Mr. Southwestern” his senior year. Upon graduation, he embarked on an adventure to pursue his passion as a music producer in Nashville and Los Angeles, where he met many interesting characters and touched the early careers of several notable talents. Subsequently, he entered his true vocation as a teacher and coach in the public-school system and was a mentor to many young athletes over the years. After retiring in his early 60s, he returned to Memphis to be with friends. He always had a book or two going, loved to fish, whether on the Cumberland, Percy Priest, Old Hickory, or simple pond and embraced the game of golf later in life, working at Audubon Golf Course in Memphis after retirement.

He is survived by his wife, children, and many other friends and family.

92

’75 Dr. William Russell Ries of Nashville, TN, January 5, 2021. Russell was born prematurely on January 30, 1953, in Union City, TN. Weighing only 3 lbs., 3 oz., at birth, he was determined to persevere from an early age, always armed with a deep curiosity and passion for learning. A graduate of Rhodes College, Russell went on to study medicine at the UT Center for Health Sciences, completing residencies at Baptist Memorial Hospital (Memphis) and Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago), followed by a fellowship at Tulane University. In 1988 he became a founding member of the Department of Otolaryngology of Vanderbilt Medical Center, serving as the first holder of the Carol and John S. Odess Chair in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. At his death, he was chief of the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Service at VUMC. In the arenas of academic medicine at Vanderbilt as well as all other aspects of life, Russell’s impact as a teacher, mentor, healer, and friend will be felt for a long time to come.

In the words of his colleagues: “Russell’s legacy lives on in the many people who were fortunate enough to be his colleagues, trainees, patients, and friends. The history of the Vanderbilt Otolaryngology Department has been written, in part, by Russell and the parts he wrote always came from a place of thought-

fulness and magnanimity. As a humble and talented facial plastic surgeon, Russell made his positive mark on the FPRS community here and abroad. Words cannot fully express how much he will be missed.”

Russell delighted those around him with his quiet, yet mischievous, sense of humor and original storytelling, including the creation of “TW,” an everyman dragonfly who finds himself in various predicaments.

An Eagle Scout, Russell served as chairman of Troop 221 and always lived his life in accordance with the highest virtues of the Scout: He was trustworthy, helpful, friendly, and kind. He set that tone for the boys, who wanted to emulate him as a loving exemplar of all that was good and right with the world.

Generous with his time and kind to everyone regardless of their circumstances, Russell participated in many medical missions in Ecuador. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Susie Webb Ries ’75, three children, two grandchildren, two sisters, a brother, and many nieces and nephews. ’75 David Carl Tennyson of Columbia, MO, February 7, 2021. He went peacefully in his favorite chair with a glass of Canadian whiskey near at hand and is most likely pleased that he didn’t have to sit through that Super Bowl. David was born August 16, 1952, in Ironton, MO. Soon after, the family moved back to Steele and began operating the Steele Enterprise newspaper in 1956. David would graduate from S. Pemiscot High and attended college at Millsaps, Rhodes College, and Memphis State University. While an excellent student, he remained six credit hours short of graduating college. This is widely blamed on distractions from his California girlfriend, Sandra. However, what was once a distraction became a deep companionship of 44 years.

David and Sandra married in 1975 and continued bickering at each other until her death last year.

David would take over the family business in 1980, eventually expanding to become the publisher of the Village News and the Osceola Citizen-Journal and later the Blytheville Courier News, Osceola Times, and Caruthersville Democrat-Argus. He truly enjoyed being a part of the community through the newspaper business and formed many lifetime friendships with the contacts made there. If you didn’t know David from the newspaper office, then it’s likely you ran across him at the various baseball fields in Blytheville. He spent the better part of the 1980s and ’90s coaching and supporting his children’s athletic aspirations. He could often be seen pulling into practice in a Ford Ranger with ten little leaguers hanging on in the truck bed. David also began playing golf while a student at Millsaps. This obsession stayed with him for the rest of his life.

He leaves behind many beloved friends and family members.

’76 Robert Guy Hamilton of Memphis, TN, October 27, 2020. He was born on July 16, 1953 in New Albany, MS. Robert was a graduate of Treadwell High School and Rhodes College. He attended the University of Chicago following his undergraduate degree. Robert was a marketing manager at FedEx until relocating to Chicago, IL, in 1995.

In Chicago, he served as a marketing executive at several technology-based start-ups until his retirement. Robert was known for his irreverent quick wit, incredible laugh, and great stories. He most often held court wherever single malt scotch and cigars were welcome. He loved his dog, Maddie, reading, shoes, and family — not necessarily in that order. ’76 James Franklin “Mac” McLellan III of Fayetteville, AR, December 10, 2020. He was born March 16, 1954. Mac was reared and received his early education in Pine Bluff, graduating from Pine Bluff High School in 1972. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Rhodes College. He was an active member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

He attended graduate school at Virginia Tech and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. In the summers, Mac worked on riverboats on the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers.

He conducted DNA research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for two years and taught high school Biology in Helena, AR. He also taught botany labs at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Mac worked for Walmart for the last 17 years and was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff. He loved thoroughbred racing, gardening, cooking, and reading. Mac was also very mechanical and could fix anything. He enjoyed watching sports, politics, and movies on television and listening to all kinds of music. Mac was deeply versed, especially in horse racing and Democratic politics. Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Dana; brother, Jerry McLellan ’82, and his wife, Dr. Mary Robbins ’81; sister, Margaret McLellan ’75; and other family members. ’78 George T. Derr of Antioch, TN, November 22, 2020.

Shortly after George was born in Akron, Ohio, his family began their life overseas. The first stop was Panama. Subsequent transfers led the family to Puerto Rico, Portugal, Brazil, The Philippines, and Argentina. George graduated from The American School of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1974. He attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. He worked in textile sales for YKK North America for most of his career.

For 15 years his family would go to Sunset Beach in North Carolina for a week. He looked forward to that yearly trip to be at the beach with his family, play bocce ball, fish, look for crabs, and golf. He made it back to Sunset Beach one last time in September 2019. George loved to play and watch sports. He was also a crossword puzzle and trivia whiz and he would probably beat you at any board, word, or card game you played with him. He was always up for a poker game or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. George was a great cook and loved to entertain his family and friends. He was an avid reader, preferring autobiographies and books about the American Civil War. A hummingbird enthusiast, he

inspired many of his friends to discover the wonders of those tiny birds and to put out hummingbird feeders. George and his wife were active members of Priest Lake Presbyterian Church. ’78 Virginia Watson Griffee of Memphis, TN, December 11, 2020. Born on August 24, 1956, in Lexington, Mississippi, Virginia attended Rhodes College, where she graduated in 1978 with honors in international studies, and where she met her husband of over 40 years, Jeffrey Mark Griffee, Sr. ’77. After graduation, she attended the University of Tours in France, where she studied French and got engaged before returning home for her wedding in Jackson, MS, in 1979. She began law school at the University of Memphis in 1980, where she served as Comments Editor on the Law Review and graduated in the top ten percent of her class. After graduation, she clerked on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She then worked as an associate attorney for Armstrong Allen, and later as in-house counsel for Great Western Consumer Finance Group until the early 1990s.

Virginia had two children, Susannah Lee Griffee, and Jeffrey Mark Griffee, Jr. She regularly published a legal newsletter while caring for both children, before starting the Law Offices of Virginia Griffee, her solo legal practice specializing in estate planning, wills and trusts, probate and elder law, where she practiced for the rest of her life. In addition to her legal career, Virginia was a member and then sustainer of the Junior League of Memphis, a member of the Colonial Dames of America, and active in Memphi. She loved travel, reading, and most of all, hosting and cooking for countless family holiday meals and other celebrations. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, Sue Barron Watson Stock, and Henri P. Watson, Jr. ’41. She is survived by her husband and two children. Survivors include her brothers, Philip Watson; Jim Watson ’77 and his wife, Carol Bibler; Paul Watson ’83 and his wife, Vanessa; and Christopher Watson. ’81 Kirby Hardy Smith of Dallas, TX, March 5, 2021 in a tragic skiing accident in Big Sky, MT. Kirby is survived by his devoted family: wife, Stephanie, and sons, Aidan and Weston, all of Dallas; brother, Ray Smith, of Bryant, AR; sister, Sharon Short, of Bryant, AR; niece, Cally Adcock and her husband, Cory, of Cave Springs, AR; nephew, Drew Short of Bentonville, AR; and two great-nephews, Ferguson Adcock and Fitz Adcock, of Cave Springs, AR.; motherin-law, Jean Alston; father-in-law, Thomas J. Alston both of Texarkana, TX; sister-in-law, Elizabeth Alston Sheehan; brother-in law, Paul Sheehan and their sons, Connor and Avery, all of Port Orchard, WA. Kirby was born July 14, 1960, in Nashville. He graduated from Bryant High School in Bryant, AR, and earned his bachelor of arts degree from Rhodes College in Memphis. He received his MBA in finance and accounting from Emory University in Atlanta.

Since 2005, Kirby worked at Barrow Hanley Global Investors in Dallas, serving most recently as managing director

93

and client portfolio manager. Before joining Barrow Hanley, Kirby served as managing director of institutional equity sales for Bear Stearns. Prior to joining Bear Stearns, he worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Lehman Brothers. Before his investment banking career, Kirby held positions in public accounting and corporate finance. He was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the Certified Financial Analyst Society of Dallas-Fort Worth. Kirby played as hard as he worked, if not harder. He loved researching and collecting Klipsch speakers, his early-morning tennis matches before work, dirt bike racing, golf, skiing, boating, and riding his motorcycles. He was passionate about watching all Arkansas Razorbacks games and Dallas Stars hockey. But nothing gave him more pleasure and satisfaction than spending time with and providing love and support to his family, both immediate and extended, and his legions of loyal, longtime friends.

94

’84 Philip Rhodes Dupont of Kansas City, MO, March 8, 2021. Philip was born in Houston on July 16, 1962, and was raised in Sikeston, MO. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Rhodes College, and his juris doctorate from the University of Missouri (Columbia). He began his legal career in 1988. Philip became a litigation partner with Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, transitioning later to Husch & Eppenberger, which became Husch Blackwell. From 2014, until the time of his passing, he was counsel with the Kansas City office of Sandberg Phoenix von Gontard. Philip practiced law for over 30 years and was a prominent attorney in the area. His practice concentrated on complex commercial civil litigation and medical malpractice defense. Philip was recognized as a top trial attorney on numerous occasions throughout his career including being honored as “Best of the Bar” in Kansas City and being named a “Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer.” Philip was also an accomplished appellate advocate, recently arguing successfully before the Idaho Supreme Court. He was admitted to and practiced in the many district and circuit courts, and he was even admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. In addition to Philip’s thriving law practice, he was an avid woodworker and wine collector. He was a proud member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and the Mondiale du Vin. He also enjoyed cooking, music, traveling, hiking, skiing, and spending time with his family, colleagues, and friends who he leaves behind. Philip is survived by his partner and fianceé, Amber Steinbeck, and his stepdaughter, Caden; his children, Nicholas, Elisabeth, and Caroline Dupont, and their mother, Mary Nan Dupont Thiessen; his mother; four siblings; and many beloved

nieces and nephews. As they would tell you, he was one of a kind, generous, charming, and fun-loving.

He will be deeply missed by his friends and family, and all that knew him. ’86, P’05 Dr. John Yoo Joon Koh of Farmington Hills, MI, October 18, 2020. John was born on December 24, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He attended Washington County High School. John furthered his education at Rhodes College. He then enrolled at the University of Louisville School of Medicine where he graduated with a MD in ophthalmology. John completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Alabama Medical Center at Birmingham followed by an oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery fellowship at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. As a physician and surgeon, he practiced at the Michigan Ophthalmic and Plastic Surgery Center in Bloomfield Hills. He was also on the medical staff of Waterford Surgery Center and Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak. John was an associate professor of ophthalmology at Wayne State University with oversight of ophthalmology residents at Beaumont Hospital. He was an expert at foil and saber fencing and was a fencing instructor at Oakland Community College. He was the loving father of Anna and Robert Koh and stepfather of Andrea Coleman ’05, Andrew, and Rebecca Coleman; dear brother of Paul (Sydney) Koh and David (Cecilia) Koh; and proud uncle of Marcus, Jumi, Daniel and Thomas. He also leaves behind many cherished cousins, aunts, and uncles. ’88 Thomas Lee Horton, of Nashville, TN, December 19, 2020. He was born April 22, 1966. Thomas graduated from Hillwood High School. Following graduation, he earned his bachelor’s degree in French from Rhodes College and his master’s degree in French Literature from the University of Virginia.

He attended L’Alliance française Paris and taught English to French students in the city of Marseille, France. He served as creative director for the 2002 Democratic Coordinated Campaign and served the state of Tennessee under the Governor Phil Bredesen Administration as creative and marketing strategist for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, as well as several other statewide campaigns. He founded the marketing and consultant group Mind Cartel, Inc. Thomas was the author of the cult favorite novel Titanic Days and was a multi-published poet and creative designer of poetry publications. He was principal author of the two television series Legacy and Bayport, now in pre-production and overseen by co-author Nannette Clark, as well as several other unfinished projects.

Known to friends in China as “The Happy Buddha,”

he was a native English speaker, was fluent in French, Portuguese, German, Spanish, and Italian, and was proficient in Mandarin, ASL, and Russian. Thomas sang at several public events and was well known on the Nashville karaoke and performance art scenes. He served as a community activist on several political initiatives and served as a pundit in support of LGBTQ rights for several media outlets. He quietly assisted victims of domestic violence and helped to connect them with resources such as employment, housing, and stability. He is survived by siblings, many family members, and countless other friends, lovers, and partners in good mischief. ’89 Kristen Best Alexander Stults of Clinton, TN, December 14, 2021. She attended First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge where she taught Sunday school. Kristen worked many years as a therapist at Ridgeview Hospital then became a counselor for children at the Clinch River Community School. She loved children and dedicated her life to helping them. Kristen also enjoyed the outdoors. She was passionate about rock climbing, hiking, back packing, fly fishing, and mountain bike riding. ’93 Mark N. Johnson of St. Louis, MO, November 19, 2020. He was the beloved fiancé of Anne Falgoust Ott ’94 and a dear father to his children. A native St. Louisan and graduate of St. Louis University High School in 1989, Mark attended Rhodes College where he played football and graduated with a B.A. in English in 1993. He had a successful 25-year career in commercial real estate as the chief operating officer of Johnson Group working closely with his father and brothers and was a talented guitarist playing with various bands in St. Louis. Mark was a friend and servant to many, always willing to sacrifice for family and friends and a beautiful example of living with humility, forgiveness, and love. All of Mark’s family thanks God for the gift of Mark.

’99 Carolyn Alison Barnwell of Atlanta, GA, September 29, 2020. Born in Atlanta on October 6, 1976, Alison was raised alongside her loving younger brother Jonathan in Brookhaven, GA. She had an idyllic childhood filled with softball at Murphey Candler, summers swimming at the Atlanta Athletic Club and family vacations in the Smoky Mountains. After attending Galloway School and graduating from The Westminster Schools in 1995, Alison moved to Memphis, TN, to attend Rhodes College, where she forged deep friendships with her beloved “Hoodrats” that held her hand and kept her laughing through treatments. Even as her cancer spread, and she knew it was time to move home with family, she hated the thought of leaving her adopted hometown of Austin, TX, where she thrived in her career in commercial real estate and had many wonderful friends, neighbors and colleagues. When she returned to Atlanta, she was embraced by some of her earliest and dearest friends. Alison lived life with a fervor driven by her love of dogs, good food, great music, and, more recently, Beto O’Rourke. She was the much-loved friend and sister-in-law to Jon’s wife, Devin, and “Aunt Ali’ to her two nieces and nephew. Alison’s golden retriever, Finn, was by her side until her last breath and will be adored by her family for years to come. Along with her devoted parents, brother and family, Alison is survived by her extended family and many friends from her childhood in Atlanta, college years in Memphis, and the home she created in Austin. One of Alison’s former English teachers, Jessica Bagby, perfectly captured her essence in a verse that was shared with the family: “She is the flash of lightning and the crack of thunder. In a moment she can illuminate the world and demand that you see.” Alison’s battle with cancer was fought with humor, grace, and a spirit that did not surprise those who knew her best. She will be forever missed and, to her family and friends, please always know that she loved you SO HARD.

95

“We feel blessed to partner with Rhodes to play a role in developing our future innovators, leaders, and contributors to a better world.”

– Mark ’79 and Rhonda Hammond

Mark Hammond ’79 followed two of his brothers, Steve ’71 and Jere ’74, to Rhodes. Though of relatively modest means, their parents provided encouragement and financial support that allowed all three to graduate from Rhodes, and later from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Thanks to their parental support, Mark, Steve, and Jere have enjoyed long careers in medicine.

Mark and his wife, Rhonda, have been faithful supporters of the Rhodes Annual Fund and the golf program, and recently expanded their support to include an endowed scholarship. Mark and Rhonda intend to increase funding for the scholarship with future gifts, including a bequest in their estate plan.

“I have supported the Annual Fund at Rhodes as a token of gratitude for the superb education and preparation I received, not only for medicine but also for life. Some of my best memories and friendships at Rhodes were associated with being a member of the golf team, and over the years I’ve enjoyed supporting the men’s and women’s golf program to provide similar opportunities to current student athletes. A

few years ago, Rhonda and I began the Dr. Mark and Rhonda Hammond Charitable Fund to support nonprofits and institutions such as Rhodes. Events over the past year have given us the opportunity to reassess how we can make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren. Our primary goals of supporting social and economic justice, environmental protection, and healthcare reforms which benefit all of us must align with our beneficiaries. Rhodes College was and is a place that encouraged constant search for truth and using our education to benefit others and serve our communities. If we are to overcome the challenges that face us, we will need future leaders dedicated to learning and service. To that end, Rhonda and I feel that it is vital to support future students so that wealth and status play no role in access to higher education.”

By establishing a scholarship fund now, Mark and Rhonda will have the opportunity to see their gift in action. Their planned gift to the Rhodes endowment ensures their impact will continue in perpetuity.

MARK AND RHONDA HAMMOND

2000 North Parkway Memphis, TN 38112

CIRCLE THE DATE AND MAKE YOUR PLANS!

Homecoming/Reunion Weekend: October 1-3, 2021

Come home to Rhodes this fall and celebrate!