Obituary, Class Notes

CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM

Vernon M. Martin Jr. 1944-2022

Accounting professor Vernon (Vern) Martin died in September after a long journey with Parkinson’s disease. The Ohio native came to Messiah as a student in the 1960s and majored in sacred music. After a career in public education in Pennsylvania and California, he returned to his alma mater to teach accounting and taxes for 25 years (19812006). Preparing his own tax return led him to a business of preparing taxes for clients, many from the Messiah community. He served as minister of music in numerous Brethren in Christ congregations, including locally in Carlisle and Dillsburg, Upland in California and Fairview in Ohio. Messiah mourns his loss alongside his family, many of whom are alumni, including wife BJ (McCulloh) Martin ’66; daughter Melissa von Keyserling ’92; granddaughters Mikaela Byrd ’20 and Kara Lawley; son Matthew Martin’97; and granddaughters Morgan and Anna Martin.

The family has kindly directed memorial gifts to the Martin Family Accounting Scholarship Endowment Fund at Messiah University.

1980s

Jeffrey Kramer ’85 recently published a book about Christian apologetics, “God, Jesus, and Other Foolishness. Why Biblical Christianity Makes Sense.”

1990s

Juliana Lesher ’92 recently published the book “A Heart That Sings for Jesus.”

Sheri Peifer ’95 works as the president of Eskaton, a large senior living nonprofit in northern California. She serves as vice chair of the LeadingAge California board of directors and chairs its planning committee. She is also a graduate of the national LeadingAge Leadership Fellow program based in Washington, D.C. In addition to her B.A. from Messiah, she has an M.S. in gerontology and education from California State University, Sacramento.

Drew Samuelsen ’99 recently published “Restart: Book I,” a book about four teenagers trying to survive after a computer virus destroys most of the world’s population.

2000s

Jeremiah Schofield ’00 works as a deputy associate commissioner for the Office of Central Operations in Baltimore, Md. He also served as town councilman for Sykesville, Md. from 2019-2023.

Angela Lykins Yeh ’03 has been appointed as the coordinator for the fine and performing arts program at Charles J. Colgan Senior High School in Prince William County, Virginia. Melanie Howard ’07 works as the associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Fresno Pacific University. She is also chair of the biblical and religious studies division.

Laura (Hansen) McNear ’07 and husband Logan announce

Jeff Reczek ’07 works as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Washington Office.

2010s

Alex Lovelace ’11 published a book, “The Media Offensive: How the Press and Public Opinion Shaped Allied Strategy during World War II.”

Amy Colpo ’13 works at the CEEDAR Center, training special educators and special education administrators. She also has presented at the international convention of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Rachel Nelson ’12 and Chris Morrison married July 23, 2022.

Matthew Musselman ’14 and Rebekah Smith ’15 married May 21, 2014. She works as a software engineer at Avxtel.

Lance Jones ’15, director of bands at West Branch High School in Morrisdale, Pa., has started a podcast, “The Backwoods Bandroom,” for rural band directors that is streaming on all major platforms.

Sally Graham Bethmann ’18

teaches music classes through The Little Music Corner, a platform dedicated to providing high-quality music education to children. Britney Yauger ’19 joined Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts as the program coordinator for diversity, equity and inclusion.

2020s

Marisa Harris ’19 and Matthew Sechrist married Oct. 2, 2021. He works as an investment analyst for Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System in Harrisburg, Pa.

Christina Muchmore ’21 works as a solution analyst at Deloitte in Harrisburg, Pa.

Christian Valen ’21 works as an audit and accounting advisory services associate at KPMG in New York City.

Matthew Collman ’22 works as an asset management analyst at PFM Asset Management in Harrisburg, Pa.

Chloe Kauffman ’22 recently started a funded Ph.D. program at the University at Maryland.

2022 Alumni Award winners named in November

From left: Amber Jackson ’20, Daniel ’99 and Jessica Cotton ’99 and Jeffrey Morris ’93. Not pictured are Sharon and Rick Jordan ’70.

Young Alumna Achievement Award: Amber Jackson ’09

This award recognizes an alumna who has attended Messiah University within the past 15 years for significant contributions to church, vocation, community and/or the University. Jackson works as the assistant general counsel for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority.

Distinguished Alumnus Achievement Award: Jeffrey Morris ’93, mathematics education)

This award recognizes a lifetime of vocational achievement in a manner that embodies the mission of the University. Morris works for the University of Pennsylvania as a professor of biostatistics and as the division director of biostatistics at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is also a professor of statistics and data science at the Wharton School of Business.

Alumni Christian Service Award: Daniel ’99 and Jessica Cotton ’99

This award recognizes outstanding lifelong service or long-term effort in fulfilling the mandates of the Christian gospel to serve and sacrifice for the needs of humanity. The Cottons are the founders and directors of the Rio Collective in Panama. Rio is a team of missionaries, local partners and international partners who together to glorify God by growing his local church.

Alumni Appreciation Award: Sharon and Richard “Rick” Jordan II ’70

This award recognizes faithful and exemplary contributions to advancing the mission of Messiah University. Rick has served on the Board of Trustees for 22 years. The Jordans have been faithful ambassadors, prayer partners and significant benefactors for many years.

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