There is a light Brad Brown ’98 rebuilds home and hope in the aftermath of tragedy p. 10
Life adventures
The 2019-2020 WWU annual report p. 16
A long walk
THE MAGAZINE OF WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY FALL 2020
Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago p. 30
Walla Walla University
Homecoming Weekend 2020 & 2021 April 22-25, 2021
A combined homecomin g for 2020 and 2 021!
Celebrating art, service, and a time-honored space We sure hope to be able to meet in person in April for a combined 2020 and 2021 Homecoming Weekend! We’ll celebrate the 100th anniversary of Village Hall, 60 years of student missions, 50 years of art majors and minors, and the 10th anniversary of the Atlas. We’ll also celebrate Alumni of the Year for 2020 and 2021. April 22–25—pencil it in on your calendar so you can join us for this historic celebration, whether we meet in person or virtually. Registration will open in February 2021. Honor years: 1960, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2011, Vanguards
For more information visit wallawalla.edu/homecoming or call Alumni and Advancement Services at (800) 377-2586.
BACK TO YOU // P. 30
“I had read the books, the blogs, the articles; they all said the Camino will change your life.” —Kate Beck ’14
PEACE AND QUIET
On her walk to Fromista, Spain, Kate Beck had time to enjoy the peacefulness of the Spanish countryside.
4 From the President College Avenue 5 News from across campus THE MAGAZINE OF WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY // FALL 2020
9 10 16
From the Archives Can you name the nursing student in this photo?
‘You’ll be okay.’ Brad Brown ’98 talks about life after the Paradise fire and finding hope after trauma.
Annual report All the numbers, plus how our lives can be shaped by adventure.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KATE BECK
Currents 24 Alumni 24 AlumNotes, 28 In Memory,
About the cover
A year after the Camp Fire destroyed most of his hometown of Paradise, Brad Brown ’98 is finding ways to rebuild. PHOTO BY KEVIN FISCUS
Westwind Fall 2020, Volume 39, Number 3 // Westwind is published three times a year by Walla Walla University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, and is produced by the WWU Marketing and University Relations office. This issue was printed in November 2020. © 2020 by Walla Walla University. Mail Westwind, 204 S. College Ave., College Place, WA 99324. E-mail westwind@wallawalla.edu Telephone (509) 527-2363 Toll-free (800) 541-8900 Online wallawalla.edu/westwind Editor Kim Strobel Staff writers Kiersten Ekkens, Makena Horton, T. Brooke Sample Design L/Bailey Design
30 Back to You
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Taking the longer view We recently conducted the November meeting of the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees (you will find trustees’ names listed on p. 19). It will be no surprise that we met on a virtual platform. The meeting featured a withering array of reports answering the question, “How has COVID-19 impacted the university?” Our 29 board members engaged with those reports, asking perceptive questions. courages a longer view. In the longer view, the resilience that characterizes this place, and the grace of God that inspires it, will pull us through the incredible challenges we face.” While board members appreciated the spreadsheets and data, it was these reports of lived experience that drew them into this unique WWU moment. Andrews, David, and Terrie offered excellent illustrations of the grand truth of this moment: WWU is blessed by loyal students, creative staff members, and innovate faculty members. Blessed by God’s grace, they are helping to see WWU through and gathering up important lessons along the way. You’ll see more evidence of this in the pages of this Westwind. You will trace here the experience of alumnus Brad Brown and his family; the lives and generosity of Rudy and Anna Klimes, Robert Van Stee, and Larry and Shirley Panasuk; the mission service of Ginger Ketting-Weller, president of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies; and the experiences of many other alums. Alumni, we thank you for extending the reach of WWU’s mission during the pandemic. Could I invite you to pray for WWU, reflecting this prayer list of current needs? •E ndurance and patience for faculty, staff, and students. This has been a long haul. We will need a continuing infusion of God’s grace to see us through. •O ngoing decision-making for winter quarter. We are preparing to welcome students back to campus for winter quarter and wish to do so in the best and safest ways possible. •S killful and effective financial strategy. Pray for wisdom and discernment for all involved. •E ffective spiritual ministry. The spiritual mission of WWU remains as important as ever. Pray that reconfigured events and ministries will effectively meet needs and build disciples. Thank you for praying for WWU! John McVay, president
FIND MORE NEWS ABOUT WWU AT WALLAWALLA.EDU/NEWS.
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PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE
Interspersed among the reports were three “COVID-19 Chronicles.” One of these sketches of life under COVID-19 was offered by student leader Andrews Ferreira, who shared the challenges in publishing our student newspaper, The Collegian. For the first time in its long and storied history, The Collegian will be published only online for the rest of this year. Another vignette was provided by David Lopez, executive director of the WWU Center for Humanitarian Engagement, who updated the group on creative efforts to encourage generosity in service under the pandemic. Conducting a Service Leadership Summit for student leaders helped create a team of student leaders to develop creative ministries like Night Without a Bed, an online campaign raising awareness concerning homelessness. That ministry led in turn to a Missions Club-sponsored sleeping bag drive, with large blue contribution bins scattered across the Walla Walla Valley. David concluded his report with the buoyant news of the launch of WWU’s signature service project, the Walla Walla Valley Blue Zones Project, with the strong support of Adventist Health. Terrie Aamodt, professor of history, provided a third window into WWU under COVID-19. She walked the board through her teaching day and the pandemic safety measures now required. A little video tour of the Hutto-Patterson Research Center showed its new configuration with individual desks carefully social distanced behind orange tape. Amid the pandemic, opportunities for creative learning have emerged. For example, she has just led her Colonial and Revolutionary America class in recreating the Constitutional Convention, using online technology to create subgroup channels parallel to the backroom deals necessary to bring the Constitution to reality. She offered high praise for students. “It brought tears to my eyes to see how eager our students were to be back in the classroom this quarter.” And she had equally high praise for her faculty colleagues who have “stepped up in a thousand ways to make learning happen.” She concluded just as you would expect a historian to do: “Studying history en-
College Avenue The latest from across campus
Fighting fires
PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE
WWU aviation professors spend summer fighting fires in the PNW
Learn more about aviation at WWU at
wallawalla.edu/ aviation.
A
S CREWS battled wildfires throughout the western United States this summer, pilots Matthew Toelke ’09 and Philip Glendrange ’11 did their part in the Pacific Northwest. Toelke, assistant professor of technology, worked as an air attack pilot, coordinating aerial and ground support and traffic control for firefighters. This included assessing fires and ordering the necessary resources to control and stop those fires. He primarily worked in Washington state with occasional flights to neighboring states. Glendrange, assistant professor of aviation, worked out of
La Grande, Oregon, as an aerial spotter for Butler Aircraft Company assisting the U.S. Forest Service in the Oregon Department of Forestry. “I piloted a Cessna 206 aircraft carrying an Oregon Department of Forestry employee who looked for new fires ignited from the lightning of passing thunderstorms,” said Glendrange. Toelke has been fighting fires for the past 10 summers, while Glendrange has been on the job for three summers. “When I began work at Walla Walla University,” said Glendrange, “Matthew Toelke had already started doing aerial firefighting, and he recommended I also apply for a job during the
Philip Glendrange (left) and Matthew Toelke keep their skills sharp by staying in the air each summer.
summer months. This helps Matthew and me continue our professional development as aviation faculty at WWU.” One of the most noteworthy fires that Toelke helped fight this summer was the Cold Springs and Pearl Hill fire. “It was a fast-moving, winddriven fire that was threatening farms and houses. While it did burn down a few homes, we were able to prevent many others from burning. We were also able to stop the fire from burning into a large power station. It is especially rewarding when you see that your efforts are helping people keep their homes and livestock,” said Toelke. Westwind Fall 2020
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College Avenue The latest from across campus
BY THE NUMBERS
School of Business
99
Percentile placement for WWU seniors taking the Major Field Test in business in 2019–20.
94
Five-year average percentile on the MFT for WWU seniors.
120,781
Quality assurance
School of Engineering receives continuing ABET accreditation
T
HE WWU SCHOOL of Engineering has received continuing accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Accreditation provides formal recognition of a program’s quality and is an important element for students who want to obtain a license in a specific area of engineering after graduation. The application for evaluation included a 467-page self-study report that provided data on fulfillment of accreditation requirements. Two ABET team members visited WWU in November 2019. Their visit included interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, and review of thousands of pages of documentation. The accreditation process includes reviews of program quality measures, such as institutional support for the program, student resources, and faculty qualifications. The most significant focus is on ABET’s seven expectations for student outcomes. “These outcomes focus on fundamental learning objectives that should be achieved by students in all high-quality engineering programs,” said Brian Roth ’01, professor of engineering and dean of the School of Engineering.
Hands-on lab experiences and a low student-to-teacher ratio are hallmarks of the WWU School of Engineering.
“During ABET’s site visit, several students shared short presentations on their internship, club, or research experience. Students were also invited to participate in a confidential Q&A session with one of the site visitors,” said Roth. “I am proud of the many students and graduates who use their engineering education in service to others,” said Roth. “We have a vibrant student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, and many of our graduates are active contributors to civic and religious organizations. I am also proud of our faculty who forego substantial industry salaries, instead investing deeply of their time and creativity to provide our students with an outstanding education.”
523
Business schools across the country whose students took the MFT in 2019–20.
Learn more about the School of Business at
wallawalla.edu/ business.
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Libby painting joins collection in Baseball Hall of Fame A painting by Joel Libby ’04, assistant professor of art and chair of the Department of Art, has been added to the permanent art collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 40-by-50-inch acrylic painting of Major League Baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson is part of a series Libby painted to highlight the first
five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Libby began seriously exploring acrylic
The painting is on display in the Frank and Peggy Steele Art Gallery.
painting in 2002 during his time as a student at Walla Walla University. He was introduced to the medium by his professor at the time, Martha Mason, professor emeritus of art. During the last three years he has worked almost exclusively in acrylic. Libby has been a baseball fan since childhood. “It’s a game that somehow juxtaposes a very elegant and wholesome side with a fiercely competitive and almost bellicose side,”
he said. “It just really appeals to me. “The Baseball Hall of Fame is a storied organization that does an excellent job of keeping the history of our national pastime alive and relevant. I am just so honored that they chose to accession this painting to their permanent collection.” See the latest online art show, Typewriters, at
wallawalla.edu/ art-gallery.
ALUMNI IN THE NEWS: WALLAWALLA.EDU/WESTWIND
PHOTOS: CHRIS DRAKE, COURTESY OF JOEL LIBBY
Business students across the country who took the MFT in 2019–20.
books + sites
Exploring the Word
Reading and browsing recommendations from our experts
C
Business Ethics in Biblical Perspective: A Comprehensive Introduction
Theology faculty contribute to new Bible commentary ARL COSAERT, DEAN of the School of Theology and professor of biblical studies, and Pedrito Maynard-Reid, professor of biblical studies and missiology and assistant to the WWU president for diversity, have authored two of the most recent volumes in the new Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary. Cosaert wrote the commentary on the books of 1 and 2 Timothy, and Maynard-Reid wrote the commentary on the book of James. The International Bible Commentary will have roughly 66 individual volumes and is being written by Adventist scholars from around the world. “Over 90% of the church is from overseas, so their worldviews, in many instances, are different,” Maynard-Reid said. “I found that as I wrote I had to be thinking of those worlds. When an African picks up the commentary and they read a particular passage and see that I’ve used a proverb from Ghana, I’m sure it will put a smile on their face
and they’ll say, ‘Aha, this commentary is for me, too.’” Cosaert’s commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy involved many hours of study, writing, and revising. “I hope the individuals who read my commentaries will discover the beauty and importance of 1 and 2 Timothy,” he said. “They may not be as popular as Paul’s letters to the Romans or Galatians, but they have just as important a contribution to play in our understanding of God’s love for us and what it means to be a follower of Christ.”
PHOTOS: CHRIS DRAKE
Congratulations to Preston Carman ’03, assistant professor of computer science, on completing his doctorate in computer science at the University of California, Riverside. Carman completed
his dissertation, “Interval Joins for Big Data,” in September 2020. His research included reviewing five existing computer algorithms that had only been tested as a proof of concept and not implemented in a real database. He searched for the most efficient algorithm that joined intervals on big data using many machines. Carman’s goal was to complete a project
The world of business is fraught with ethical challenges. Some of these are relatively straightforward, but others are complicated and require careful reflection. While there are numerous theories to help people navigate these dilemmas, the goal of this book is to provide a comprehensive biblical perspective on contemporary issues. —George Perez, assistant professor of business
The Remedy New Testament: Expanded Paraphrase in Everyday English
Pedrito Maynard-Reid (left) and Carl Cosaert
Carman dissertation addresses algorithms and shared databases
By Michael E. Cafferky (InterVarsity Press, 2015)
By Timothy R. Jennings (Lennox Publishing, 2017)
that would allow others to benefit from what he learned. His performance analysis allowed him to share his new algorithm implementation with an open-source database where it can continue to be used. “I’m proud that the code I wrote is actually being utilized in a real database system,” Carman said.
Learn more about the WWU Department of Computer Science at
This book is a vividly depicted interpretation of the stories of Jesus et al. in the New Testament. Without taking unnecessary liberties with the Bible scriptures, Dr. Jennings makes the stories with which many are so familiar really come to life! —Linda M. Felipez, professor of technology and chair of the Department of Technology
Love Anyway By Jeremy Courtney (Zondervan, 2019)
Jeremy and Jessica Courtney, founders of the Preemptive Love Coalition, have inspired me for years, and Jeremy’s latest book, Love Anyway, provides stunning glimpses of what it looks like to love in the face of fear and promise, terror and beauty, and thereby live as agents of hope in a broken world. —Jody Washburn, associate professor of biblical studies
wallawalla.edu/cs.
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College Avenue The latest from across campus
The new climbing wall will allow for 12 climbers on ropes and 10 people bouldering for a total of 17 more climbers than on the previous wall.
WWU welcomes six new faculty members for the 2020–21 academic year
Bradley Dennis ’01 and ’03, assistant professor of social work and sociology (Billings campus)
Climbing ahead New climbing wall takes shape in WEC
Check out progress on the wall and meet some students involved in the project on Instagram @wwuclimbingwall.
WWU offers four new certificate options Walla Walla University has added four new certificate options for degreeseeking and non-degree-seeking students. These
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NEW AND EXPANDED CLIMBING WALL will open during winter quarter. The wall is situated on the west wall of the gymnastics gym in the Winter Educational Complex. The wall will feature double the square footage of the previous wall, the addition of bouldering routes, and routes for climbers of all skill levels. Funding for the new wall was provided by the class of 2019, the Academic Administration office, the Student Life office, the Department of Health and Physical Education, and the Associated Students of Walla Walla University. “Rock climbing is a sport that exercises both the body and mind,” said Will Howard, senior engineering major and climbing wall manager. “It is also a social sport. You can catch up with friends or make new ones while waiting for the next climb. Walla Walla’s climbing community is also a really positive one. If someone is working really hard on a route, bystanders and other climbers start cheering them on.” During COVID-19 restrictions there are limits on the number of students who can use the space at one time and specific cleaning protocols in place.
certificates provide options for students pursuing one major to expand their skillset with classes from another discipline. They also provide opportunities for members of the community to enhance their knowledge in specific areas and complete an
academic program that certifies their level of knowledge and competence. Certificate programs are offered at WWU in bookkeeping, business analytics, professional writing, and social media and digital marketing. Most certificate programs
can be completed in one year and require a comprehensive final exam.
To learn more about these programs, visit
wallawalla.edu/ business and wallawalla.edu/ comm-lang.
Heidi Schuette ’90, associate professor of engineering
Leasha Simafranca, instructor in nursing (Portland campus)
Idah Taruwinga, assistant professor of social work and sociology
David Wiltfong ’13, instructor of social work (Missoula campus)
PHOTOS: CHRIS DRAKE AND COURTESY OF BRADLEY DENNIS, AMANDA RAMOUTAR, LEASHA SIMAFRANCA, AND DAVID WILTFONG
Amanda Ramoutar, assistant instructor of education
From the Archives If memory serves
’60
Name that nurse
PHOTO: WWU ARCHIVES
Many alumni will recognize the old Rogers Adventist School building (now an open field) in the background of this classic ’60s photo, but who are the two subjects of the photo? The WWU Library Archives houses an amazingly detailed collection of historical photos, but we’re missing the details about this one. If you know—or think you know—send us an email at westwind@wallawalla.edu.
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THERE IS A LIGHT Following a tumultuous year of personal tragedy, Brad Brown shares his story—and lessons for carrying on. BY A M Y W I L K I NS ON ’04 Photographs by K E V I N F I S C U S
NEW GROWTH The fire in Paradise left widespread areas of devastation, but Brown is seeing signs of life and new growth.
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F
rom the driver’s seat of his Honda Odyssey—with flames advancing all around and traffic at a standstill—Brad Brown placed two phone calls: The first to his 16-year-old son to tell him he loved him; the second to a friend to pass along his bank account information and ask that they take care of his son and 13-year-old daughter if he didn’t make it out alive.
Affairs in order—or as in order as they could be given the circumstances—the Feather River Hospital chaplain hit the minivan’s gas pedal, propelling himself, a community member, and three critical patients from the hospital through what Brown describes as a “wall of flame,” praying for a clearing on the other side. “Everybody’s scared, including me,” Brown, a 1998 theology graduate, recalls. “You just didn’t have an option.” After several harrowing seconds plunged into near-darkness, the vehicle finally re-emerged into the eerie light of day, with a course set for a Kmart parking lot where Cal Fire had instructed residents of Paradise, California, to congregate for safety. Once at the parking lot, hours would tick by before a sheriff was able to escort Brown and a few other hospital employees with evacuated patients in tow to Enloe Medical Center in nearby Chico. Far enough from the inferno, Brown got a cell signal and called his kids: Son Jaron and daughter Alina had made it out and were safe. Brown would later learn that their home was the only one spared in
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Melea was a math major at WWU. RIGHT: The Browns— including son Jaron and daughter Alina— enjoy family time together. Jaron is now a WWU freshman engineering student.
their neighborhood. Ninety-one percent of the houses in Paradise burned. In the weeks to come, the Camp Fire would be declared the most destructive in California’s history, burning some 153,000 acres and destroying nearly 19,000 buildings. A near-death experience like Brown’s would shake even the most steadfast of souls. But for the then-42-year-old, it paled in comparison to the tragedy he had endured just five months earlier: the death of his wife, Melea (Spencer) Brown ’97. College sweethearts, the two met at Walla Walla University, and to hear Brown tell it, he had to do some persuading to get the mathematics major to go out with him. She eventually
acquiesced, however, and the two were married in 1996. They had two children and did stints in Michigan and Washington before moving to Montana. It was in their kitchen in Montana that Melea heard a voice. It told her, “You’re going to move to California. You have cancer. You need the resources that California offers. You’ll be okay.” She kept this disquieting message to herself, and two months later, Brown received a call from the HR director at Feather River Hospital offering him a position as the director of chaplaincy services. After much prayer, the couple decided to move their family to Paradise. Three weeks after they arrived, 37-yearold Melea was diagnosed with stage four
the best well-rounded kid spiritually, emotionally, and academically,” Brown explains. “I came home and told Melea about it. She passed away five days later. It was just like God confirmed in her mind that, ‘Hey, your journey’s done.’” And so, five months later, when Brown found himself trapped in his minivan surrounded by flames, he had already come to intimately know and understand life’s fleeting nature. “Once you come face-to-face with mortality, it doesn’t take away the sting necessarily the next time around, but I think you just have that experience to fall back on,” Brown says. Though Brown considers his family fortunate, the fire’s aftermath hasn’t been
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BRAD BROWN
“You just have to trust God every day for your life and know that he’s got it. … We just had to come to that conclusion as a family.”
colon cancer and given a month to live. Despite the dire prognosis, doctors started her on an aggressive treatment plan, and Melea put her faith in God. “She was a statistician by profession, and she just said, ‘I’m the outlier,’” Brown recalls. “And she believed it. She actually made it six years. It was a really long, hard journey.” Nearing the end of her life, Melea came to understand that God’s earlier promise—“You’ll be okay”—meant that her kids would be okay. She learned just how true those words would be when her youngest, Alina, received an award at her eighth grade graduation. “She ended up being the only student to get this merit scholarship for being
without trials. Even though their home was spared, the entire power grid in Paradise was destroyed by the blaze, making utilities virtually nonexistent. Brown and his two kids spent about three months living out of their RV, parked in a friend’s driveway waiting for the all-clear to move back into their house. And with Feather River Hospital badly damaged and closed for repairs and rebuilding, Brown shifted gears for a bit, focusing on chaplaincy work in the local clinics and speaking engagements on behalf of Adventist Health. His chaplain role ended at the beginning of summer 2020, and now he’s taking some time to focus on his family and run his dog-breeding business. “You just have to trust God every day for your life and know that he’s got it,” Brown says reflecting on the last two years. “He can take you through anything if he chooses, or if he doesn’t, know that that was the timing and what was meant for your life. We just had to come to that conclusion as a family. And it’s taken trial to get there.” Brown’s story of heroism and hope has been shared widely and inspired many: He was named one of Time magazine’s Heroes of 2018, and his experience was chronicled in an episode of the docuseries Life on the Line called “For the Love of Paradise.”
GETTING THROUGH THE TOUGH TIMES Brown spoke with Westwind recently about the lessons he’s learned in finding hope and moving forward during hard times. Westwind: Brad, you’ve faced some tremendous personal challenges with a level of hope and grace to which many would aspire. Do you consider yourself a fundamentally resilient person? From where does that resiliency come? Brad Brown: I don’t know if I would have ever decided to become a resilient person, but, yes, I am. Christianity, if we really buy into it, is a resilient religion. Being a pastor and a chaplain and seeing people’s lives—and what works and doesn’t work—it’s really true. Christianity, at its core, is about hope, and hope brings resilience. The second coming of Christ makes everything else pay off in life, if we really believe that no matter what we go through, God is faithful to us and we’ve got a crown of righteousness and eternal life with him. It just helps you get through things that would be challenging if you didn’t have a post-this-world picture to look towards. Westwind: Are there specific Bible verses or stories that you turn to during difficult times to remind you of God’s faithfulness? Brown: With the fire, it was the story of Daniel and the three worthies in the fiery furnace. That story is so real and dramatic that you can see God’s hand is the only thing to preserve life. Unbeknownst to me, my kids were talking about that story while I was talking to the patients in my car about it. I often turn to it, just in life as well, because in Christianity, many times people anticipate God taking us out of everything—either you won’t go through it or he’ll pull you out [by sending] some type of salvation. And in reality, much of life isn’t that. It’s about going through it and realizing that God’s there with you. Knowing that he’s there with you, and having that peace, knowing that your future’s in his hands, I think is actually more comforting in many ways than just waiting, waiting, waiting for him to pull you out of it.
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Westwind: Your story also illustrates the importance and necessity of community —your friends giving over their driveway for your RV, neighbors praying for your home to be spared—but with pandemic restrictions, many of us haven’t been able to see the friends and family who help give us strength. How do we continue to nurture those relationships at a time like this? Brown: What I’ve noticed with patients is that they do better when they have support. For a lot of people, it’s their faith community. For some people, it’s family, which is great, but we live in a pretty fragmented family support world anymore. So many times, either they’re too far away, or they’re not what you would hope they would be. We do live in a very isolating world, just in general, and then COVID has definitely stepped that up. One of the things that I would say is, there’s always a workaround. Maybe it’s phone calls or texts, it’s a FaceTime, it’s social distancing but
beyond—it just wasn’t an option. If you care about people you gave and gave and gave. A lot of us didn’t sleep much for a few months. The needs were just beyond what we could do. It really was such a major catastrophe—it was apocalyptic, the way it played out. There’s no way one person or one church or one hospital could solve the problems that we had. It took a lot of people helping each other. It was interesting: Most of the people that were helping had lost themselves. We did have some people come in from outside, but a lot of the support was from individuals that have lost, as well. They just were resilient enough to be able to come back, and those people actually were the ones that I think did the best when you look back. Westwind: Conversely, giving back on a daily basis—like you did in your role as a chaplain—requires constantly depleting your own well for others. How do you go about refilling that well? What do you do for self-care?
“You can’t always look at the big picture. You’ve got to sometimes look at the small pieces of it that were good, because you can always find blessings.” getting together like we do at churches. There are ways that people have found to find community, or if they haven’t, they should. Westwind: There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the act of giving back can help people who are experiencing loss and grief. Have you found that to be true in your experience? Brown: [The idea that] in giving you will receive a spiritual blessing in turn is real. Especially if you have a loss, your compass for life just gets a little tweaked and so getting involved in giving, in finding meaning and purpose, it really does come back. After the fire, most people in health care or ministry just went above and
Watch the docuseries episode about Brown’s experiences, “For the Love of Paradise,” at
wallawalla.edu/paradise.
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Brown: I taught classes for the hospital on self-care, and I’m not really good at it. It’s like the mechanic who has the worst car or the contractor who has the house that’s falling apart, right? In reality, I transitioned to better self-care when I moved from pastoral ministry into chaplaincy. We go through three or four years of chaplaincy training, and a lot of it is figuring out who you are, and why you tick, and why you do what you do or don’t do what you should. It’s one of the best opportunities ever—it’s like a self-counseling session. That processing was the best thing for me, because I started focusing more on my family, out of necessity. In [pastoral] ministry, I wasn’t as balanced as I hoped to be. There was always more to do. Getting on a schedule was key for me. [As a chaplain], I was a director, so I was able to direct instead of being directed by parishioners. It was the first job that I had that was structured. Taking quality time to exercise is important. And of course, my devotional
life has always been the key that centers and grounds me. My days don’t go well if I miss it. I also found a hobby too and started rebuilding classic cars. And then learning to say “no.” I’m still learning. You can’t be the savior for everyone. At the end of the day, if I give everything I have, I don’t have anything for the next day. It’s really refilling your cup. Westwind: That’s such an important point. So many people, whether healthcare workers or parents, might feel like taking time for themselves is selfish, but it’s not. Brown: The two professions with the highest attrition rate for burnout are clergy and health care. So every new employee orientation at our hospital, I would tell them that you just have to find ways to refill because if you give and give, you’re gonna run out for yourself. Westwind: For those reading this who may be struggling, whether with personal trauma or the more widespread grief we’re experiencing due to the pandemic and other world events, what advice would you offer about perseverance?
For Brown, rebuilding in Paradise includes dog kennels with heated floors, air conditioning, and an outdoor play area.
Brown: What I would tell them is that you need to look for blessings every day. It’s not a year thing or a week thing or a situation thing, it’s a daily thing, where you can’t always look at the big picture. You’ve got to sometimes look at the small pieces of it that were good, because you can always find blessings. With the fire, for instance, we lost our jobs, we lost our hospital, we lost our church or school. It was devastating, absolutely devastating. But through that, people were coming afterwards saying, “But this is the blessing, that I have my kids; I have a place to sleep tonight; I have a warm meal; I have God.” It’s when you look for them that you find them. There’s a study called “The Three Good Things” [in which participants] at the end of each day went through the process of thinking of three good things from that day. And what researchers looked at was the EQ [emotional intelligence] of the individuals to see how they thrived or if there was any difference between them and other people. They found a remarkable difference. Even for people who quit doing it, a month or a month-and-a-half later, they still found a higher level of EQ for people that have taken the time to look for the positives. That’s as simple as it gets.
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WHAT AN ADVENTURE! WWU students found adventure on Ivan’s Trail in the Echo Mountain Biking Trail System near Echo, Oregon, during an ASWWU Outdoors trip.
“For me, when everything that’s
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The WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY ANNUAL REPORT for 2019–2020
goes wrong— when adventure starts.” —YVON CHOUINARD, FOUNDER OF PATAGONIA, INC.
W
HEN YOU REFLECT on your most outrageous
adventures, what was it that carried you through? What did you learn? What sticks with you?
Walla Walla University has faced its own adventures this year, including a ransomware attack and the coronavirus pandemic. Within a matter of months the university went from being locked out of its computer systems to functioning almost completely online. This summer, due to the pandemic, the university made the difficult decision to limit population density on our campuses for fall quarter— more than half of our students were invited to attend in-person classes while hundreds more joined us via distance learning. photograph by NATHANIEL SANCHEZ
Through the many challenges of 2020 we have found strength and comfort in community, in prayer, and by resting in God’s faithfulness. We thank you for your support through these challenges and invite you to pray for the university and for our students. On the following pages we share a few stories about alumni and their own adventures that we hope will provide perspective and encouragement as we look forward with hope knowing Who holds our future. —KIM STROBEL, WESTWIND EDITOR
illustrations by HELEN GREEN/FOLIO ART
Westwind Fall 2020
17
Adventure begins 2019–2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Class of 1957
Rudy & Anna Klimes DONORS OF: Rudolph and Anna Klimes Student Missions Scholarship Walla Walla University Fund Class of 1957 Scholarship Administration Building Hall of Memory Legacy Society members Rod Heisler Engineering Endowment Rudolph and Anna Klimes LearnWell Resources Physical Education Endowed Scholarship
THANK YOU!
2019–20 ALUMNI CLASS GIVING AWARDS
ANNUAL GIVING REPORT Walla Walla University is a community of faith and discovery committed to excellence in thought, generosity in service, beauty in expression, and faith in God. In support of these four core themes, from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, alumni and other friends of the university gave gifts totaling
$10,943,317.
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Westwind Fall 2020
Gateway Award
Mountain Ash Award
Orange and Green Award
Special Mention
Highest total giving by class
Highest class participation
Most improved participation
CLASS OF 1957
CLASS OF 1962
Highest participation of a class to graduate in the last 10 years
$292,788
26.8%
Congratulations class of 1957! Your gifts in 2019–20 represent a 38% increase over 2018–19.
participation rate
The class of 1962 breaks a two-year streak of winning this award by the class of 1958.
CLASS OF 2012
3.7%
CLASS OF 1948
5. 8%
participation rate
improvement from last year
The class of 2012 ties their five-year participation rate from high from 2017.
Thank you for your continued generosity, class of 1948!
2019–20 WWU BOARD OF TRUSTEES
G
ROWING UP IN Czechoslovakia as an unwilling citizen of the Third Reich, 7-year-old Rudy Klimes mourned his mother’s death, muddled through first grade, and guarded a dangerous secret: his mother had been a Jew, which meant he was Jewish as well. On May 5, 1945, the day after the Allies accepted Germany’s surrender, Rudy saw his city laid to waste in the wake of the Russian invasion. “We have to get out of here,” Rudy’s father announced. As Stalin’s Iron Curtain descended, the family fled to Canada. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on the Saskatchewan prairies, the war brought poverty to Anna Homenchuck, the fourth of 12 children born to second-generation immigrants in a Ukrainian settlement of western Canada. Anna studied hard to rise above her circumstances, becoming the first in her family to attend college. In 1952 at Kingsway College she met Rudy, who had been teaching in a one-room schoolhouse to support his father and brother and who was attending a summer institute at Kingsway. Anna was “the girl of his dreams” and the couple married two years later, beginning a 61-year partnership that would see them travel
to five continents and 53 countries. Rudy had become a Seventh-day Adventist when Jamaican students he met at a park invited him to join them for a Sabbath picnic. He enjoyed spending time with the group and wrote in his autobiography An Adventurous Pilgrim that “When some of them invited me to visit their church, it was easy for me to accept.” The Klimeses graduated from WWU in 1957, earned advanced degrees, and became lifelong educators. Rudy was president of colleges in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, while Anna taught students from elementary through graduate school, pioneered English language programs in Asia, and helped students with learning disabilities. Together, the couple raised three children. Throughout their lives, the Klimeses faced many difficulties, including the devastation of war and the hardships of working in distant lands. In An Adventurous Pilgrim, Rudy wrote, “I am not a true adventure-seeker. I have not intentionally made life choices to fill my days with excitement. I have not asked for most adventures—they came to me uninvited. Although I could not foresee where I would end up, I could trust that God would show me the way I should go.” —EMILY HUSO ’17
John Freedman, CHAIR Rhona Kwiram, VICE CHAIR John McVay, SECRETARY MEMBERS
Daniel Bergeron Douglas Bing Andrew Carrington Bryan Clay Lowell Cooper Larry Dodds Stephanie Gates Rena Holland Yvonne Iwasa Monty Knittel Stephen Kreitner Minervino Labrador Jr. Daniel Linrud
Bill McClendon Kevin Miller Joyce Newmyer Todd Pascoe Dennis Plubell David Prest Elden Ramirez Mark Remboldt Paul Rhynard Jaime Rodriguez Terrance Taylor Rodney Wehtje Ron Wilkinson
2019–20 WWU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD Jim Kneller, CHAIR Brent Stanyer, PRESIDENT Jackie Stonas Crombie, PRESIDENT-ELECT Giselle Hepker, TREASURER Laurel Rogers Smith, SECRETARY Jodi Wagner, VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS AND ADVANCEMENT, EX OFFICIO
Claudia Santellano, DIRECTOR FOR ALUMNI AND PARENT RELATIONS, EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Greg McCulloch Jan Roberts Tom Thompson
David Hall Mindi Irvine Ben Marson
ALUMNI CLASS GIVING Class year Total giving Participation
Class year Total giving Participation
Class year Total giving Participation
Class year Total giving Participation
1933-47 1948
$400.00 $125.00
1.80% 17.30%
1966
$31,515.39
22.50%
1985
$31,275.00
12.30%
2004
$26,952.00
4.30%
1967
$49,670.00
23.30%
1986
$25,910.00
7.40%
2005
$1,540.00
4.30%
1949
$4,250.00
8.00%
1968
$58,419.16
17.40%
1987
$47,620.00
9.30%
2006
$2,532.00
3.70%
1950
$4,984.71
14.80%
1969
$19,028.00
15.20%
1988
$43,919.72
12.70%
2007
$4,034.35
2.90%
1951
$1,627.00
12.00%
1970
$8,002.49
15.10%
1989
$6,444.00
6.60%
2008
$890.00
1.60%
1952
$17,410.32
6.80%
1971
$5,799.30
9.30%
1990
$5,060.00
12.90%
2009
$11,029.43
4.70%
1953
$23,323.96
10.70%
1972
$6,620.00
12.50%
1991
$16,068.28
6.80%
2010
$2,040.00
2.10%
1954
$103,095.00
13.70%
1973
$32,940.00
11.00%
1992
$12,815.00
8.00%
2011
$17,550.00
2.00%
1955
$6,990.00
16.10%
1974
$166,613.33
11.70%
1993
$3,239.00
8.80%
2012
$1,105.00
3.70%
1956 1957
$950.00 $292,778.00
19.40% 22.10%
1975
$5,960.00
7.20%
1994
$82,360.00
5.70%
2013
$2,124.00
2.50%
1976
$22,686.00
15.60%
1995
$7,100.95
5.50%
2014
$1,669.00
1.60%
1958
$17,602.57
24.00%
1977
$24,249.00
9.70%
1996
$24,325.00
4.90%
2015
$1,727.50
2.40%
1959
$1,720.00
20.60%
1978
$48,075.00
13.60%
1997
$13,995.00
6.00%
2016
$273.55
1.50%
1960
$24,695.00
22.70%
1979
$12,007.59
8.40%
1998
$1,291.00
4.10%
2017
$3,122.17
2.10%
1961 1962
$89,997.75 $63,995.00
19.00% 26.80%
1980
$18,470.00
11.20%
1999
$1,484.00
2.80%
2018
$275.00
1.00%
1981
$4,969.15
8.00%
2000
$13,855.16
3.80%
2019
$2,673.86
1.80%
1963
$10,865.00
21.20%
1982
$13,375.00
5.40%
2001
$9,550.00
3.60%
1964
$19,510.00
23.70%
1983
$36,680.00
9.20%
2002
$1,675.00
4.00%
1965
$79,513.92
25.60%
1984
$5,841.00
7.20%
2003
$2,770.00
4.20%
Your contribution makes a difference! wallawalla.edu/give Westwind Fall 2020
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LEGACY SOCIETY The Legacy Society honors individuals who include Walla Walla University in their estate plans or make a deferred gift of any size to provide for the work of the university. Howard* and Elizabeth Hanafin George Hein ’78 Gerald and Orah ’47* Hixson Stan ’68 and Irene ’70 Hixson Jeanie Hixson ’72 Eunice Johnson Ed ’66 and Marilyn* Karlow Robert ’57 and Peggy ’60 Kaye Susan and Alvin ’34* Kincaid Clarence ’50 and Helen Klopfenstein Edward ’75 and Priscilla ’73 Ko Diane Wagner Lampson ’62 Mel and Joyce ’73 Lang Bill ’55* and Rose Lay Sandra Love-Dahl ’62 William ’49* and Edna Mae ’50 Loveless Karen MacIvor Edward ’67 and Ruth ’71 MacKenzie Dan ’57 and Betsy Matthews Marja-Leena McChesney ’91 Walt ’62 and Bonnie* Meske David and Florence* Miller Lloyd ’51 and Maud ’51* Moody William ’50* and Marjorie Moreno Olen ’52 and Mary ’53 Nations Ted ’72 and Nancy ’74 Nedderman Howard* and Monta Osborne Effie Pampaian ’39 James ’59 and Della ’65* Park Troy ’99 and Renee Patzer Oscar* and Beulah Payne ’52 Tom and Barbara Pelett Lawrence Perrigoue and RuthAnn May
“As can be seen, my life is nothing but twists and turns.” —BOB VAN STEE
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Westwind Fall 2020
*Deceased prior to June 30, 2020
To learn more about joining the Legacy Society, contact Dorita Tessier at (509) 5272646 or visit legacy. wallawalla.edu.
ENDOWED FUNDS & SCHOLARSHIPS These endowed funds provided $1,125,599 in scholarships and other forms of support for Walla Walla University during the 2019–20 fiscal year. Funds from the new endowed funds will begin to be awarded in 2020–21. Your investments today help secure the future success of WWU and generations of students to come.
»
Anonymous (34) Paul and Patricia ’68 Ackerman James and Barbara Anderson Kirk and Melody Ayers Beverly Beem Jack ’48* and Evelyn Bergman Darold ’66 and Barbara Bigger Maxine Blome ’50 Bob ’60 and Georgene Bond Marjorie Bregar Robert ’50 and Treva* Burgess Daryl and Patricia Burghart Merle Calkins Lois Carscallen Sam ’60 and Grace Carvajal Challis Casebolt ’75 Sue Cason Douglas ’70 and Carmen Clark Carlton Cross ’66 Dorothy Curameng Don ’48* and Orletta ’68 Dealy Jon and Kathryn Dybdahl Jim and Vicky Edwards Joyce Engel ’63 Kerry Ferris Allen and Donna Fisher Darius ’06 and Amanda ’05 Fleck Kerry and Marian ’70 Forschler Jim ’67 and Christie ’90 Forsyth Brant Foster Gary ’67 and Udell ’66 Fresk Leslie and Barbara Ann ’62 Fromm Henry ’62 and Mayme* Gerber Keith ’60 and Elizabeth Gibbons Theo and Marianne Goltz Don ’68 and Trish Hall Jim ’65 and Ruth ’65 Hall
Jen Pinder ’97 Jim Pinder ’96 Lloyd and Fern ’55 Piper Marvin A. Piper ’60 Hoe ’52* and Mary Poh James M. and Sandra Dassenko ’75 Reilly Avonelle Remboldt ’53 Bob ’62 and Barbara Richards Norton* and Lois ’59 Ritchie-Ritter Nancy Ann Romine ’82 Brian ’01 and Trasa ’02 Roth Glenna Ryder Elmar and Darilee Sakala Doyle ’49* and Lorelei ’49 Saxby Robert ’88 and Janelle ’87 Schmidt Roy Schmunk ’50 Gerald and Shirley Schoepflin Caroline Settlemier Stewart Shankel ’54 Dorothy Smith ’52 Jaclin Smith Samuel and Carol ’67 Smith Ralph ’81 and Franice Stirling Eldon ’48* and Barbara ’49 Stratton Doug Taylor ’78 Mark ’81* and Dorita ’80 Tessier Everett* and Shirley Tetz Griffith ’57 and Shirley ’60* Thomas Alden ’65 and Wanda ’65 Thompson Kelly Turner ’96 Dennis Vories ’74 Philip and Reid Wasser Ray and Pat Watson Dorothy Weisz ’49 Betty and Melvin* West Keith ’78 and Joyce ’78 Wilkens Stephen ’98 and Kelly Wilson Tim and Cheri Windemuth Vicki and Gerald Winkle Yew-Chong and Lily Wong Vera Young ’53
Administration Building Maintenance Advancement of Chemical Research at Walla Walla University NEW! Paul W. Anderson * Scholarship ASWWU Student Aid Endowment Claude Barnett, Ph.D., Scholarship James and Ruth Bebee Computer Science Scholarship James and Ruth Bebee Nursing Scholarship
Dr. Frederick and Mrs. JaneAnn Bennett Engineering Scholarship Beverly Math Faculty Improvement Shannon Marie Bigger Memorial Christian Service Volunteer Scholarship Lester and Geraldine Border Christian Service Scholarship Alice I. Bowden Memorial Theology Scholarship George W. Bowers Excellence in Chemistry Scholarship Boyson Family Communication Scholarship
Adventure begins 2019–2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Class of 1969
Robert Van Stee DONOR OF: Marilyn K. (Dammrose) Van Stee Memorial Nursing Scholarship Walla Walla University Fund
A
S A 9-YEAR-OLD in North Hollywood, future engineer Robert Van Stee was already seeking out adventure. He received his first traffic ticket driving a homemade go-cart cobbled together from wood, derby wheels, and a one-and-a-half horsepower lawnmower engine. Meanwhile in Walla Walla, his future wife, Marilyn Dammrose, administered shots to her dolls and dreamed of becoming a nurse. Years later at WWU, Marilyn studied nursing and Bob, engineering. The pair fell in love. After graduation, they both said, “I do,” and their adventurous journey began. Through the years, Bob worked for the Hughes Aircraft Company, owned and operated a motorcycle dealership, worked in the wood stove business, and taught engineering at WWU. Marilyn served as a
John F. Bregar Memorial Scholarship Burton and Carol Briggs Chemistry Scholarship Junior Senior Business Scholarship School of Business Fund Clair and Myrtle Calkins Library Book Fund D. Ordell and Margaret A. Calkins Business/ Education Faculty Development Merle Clairon Calkins Computer Science Faculty Development Lewis Canaday Memorial Technology Scholarship Dr. James R. Chambers Memorial Scholarship Janice P. Chance Memorial Nursing Fund Dr. Muriel Chapman Nursing Scholarship Percy W. Christian Excellence in History Scholarship A. J. and Gladys E. Christiansen Memorial Scholarship
“Adventures come in many shapes and sizes.” —RUDY KLIMES Class of 1954 Scholarship Class of 1955 Scholarship Class of 1956 Scholarship Class of 1957 Scholarship Class of 1959 Student Missions Scholarship Class of 1960 Student Missions Scholarship Class of 1961 Student Missions Scholarship Class of 1965 Scholarship Class of 1968 * NEW! Memorial Endowed Scholarship Class of 1971 Scholarship Class of 1978 Scholarship Class of 1983 Scholarship Class of 1984 Scholarship Class of 1989 Edwin Zaugg Memorial Scholarship
Class of 1996 Scholarship Class of 1997 Scholarship Class of 2003 Scholarship Class of 2009 Student Missionary Scholarship Class of 2011 Shari Booth Memorial Scholarship Class of 2012 Scholarship Class of 2014 Scholarship Class of 2017 Merit Award Verlin L. and Thelma (Kumalae) Cochran Memorial Scholarship Communication Development Course Computer Science Magazine L. P. “Jim” Corbett English Scholarship L. P. “Jim” Corbett History Scholarship
L. P. “Jim” and Jane B. Corbett Student Aid Scholarship Lee Crain Memorial Music Scholarship Edward F. Cross Engineering Scholarship Nancy Cross Memorial English Faculty Development Fund Vera Davis-Michel Memorial English Scholarship Edward F. and Clara M. Degering Memorial Educational Scholarship Claude and Annie Deming Memorial Fund Loren Dickinson Communications Scholarship Dietrich/Wilkinson Aviation Scholarship Frances Dixon Special Education Dr. Ralph A. Drake Scholarship Lars and Anna Dybdahl Scholarship
cardiac and rehabilitation nurse. Together, they raised two children. The Van Stees settled in California where Bob worked for the Navy at China Lake. As head of the flight test engineering department he tested new devices on jets, designed drones, and surprised Marilyn with impromptu flights. Marilyn served for 19 years at a home health agency, conducting countless visits to provide care for patients. In their spare time, the Van Stees enjoyed motorcycling throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and 13 European countries. In 2006, Bob endured the most difficult time in his life when Marilyn passed away after 37 years of marriage. Despite this loss, Bob learned to remain positive. “Life has both good and bad parts,” he said. “I try to capitalize on the good.” One of the good parts is Marilyn’s positive impact as a nurse, which inspires Bob to challenge himself. Since retiring in 2008, he has swum in Antarctica, bicycled across Spain, sailed the Drake Passage during a hurricane, and set a national speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats on his 1966 Bultaco motorcycle. Recently he has taken up wing walking. “More people need to get out, see the world, and add some adventure to their lives,” Bob says. Whatever comes next, Bob is up for the challenge. —EMILY HUSO ’17
Josephine Cunnington Edwards Memorial Scholarship H. Russell and Genevieve Emmerson Memorial Scholarship Engineering Chair Endowment Mary Garner Esary Memorial Scholarship Faculty/Staff Scholarship Dena W. and R. B. Farnsworth Nursing Scholarship Lawrence C. Folkes, M.D., Scholarship Ray and Alice Fowler Scholarship Norma S. Gardner Memorial English Scholarship Wilford and Emma Goffar Scholarship Graduate Dean’s Award Albert E. and Reta J. Graham Memorial Scholarship
The average scholarship awarded during the 2019–20 Awards Celebration was
$1,144. These funds were applied to student accounts during the current school year.
(continued on page 22)
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21
Class of 1965
Larry & Shirley Panasuk DONORS OF: Student scholarship support Student Missions support Student Life projects Walla Walla University Fund
T
HE OLDEST OF three kids growing up in rural Canada, Shirley Nohrton knew exactly where she wanted to go in life. Determined to become a nurse, she enrolled at Walla Walla University and graduated in 1965. Meanwhile in Montana, a farming accident almost shattered 15-year-old Larry Panasuk’s dreams to serve in foreign lands and nearly cost him his life. A year later, fitted with a prosthetic leg, Larry thanked God for protecting him and vowed not to let his injury set him back. After completing degrees in agriculture economics, Larry began working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. There, he met Shirley, a
nurse at Washington Adventist Hospital. With their shared farming backgrounds, Ukrainian heritage, and common faith, the two hit it off instantly. They married less than a year later. In 1974, the U.S.D.A.’s Foreign Agricultural Service recruited Larry to serve as an agricultural diplomat in Moscow. This was to be the first of many foreign service postings that would take the Panasuks throughout the former Soviet Union, Romania, Iraq, Turkey, and the Ukraine. While Larry represented U.S. agricultural interests abroad, Shirley took call 24/7 as a nurse in the American Embassy communities. Despite the tight control of Communism and war in the Middle East, the Panasuks never hid their faith. The Soviet Union and Romania sought to limit contact with the outside world, and foreigners like Larry and Shirley were met with suspicion. They were often followed by authorities, and a policeman was stationed outside their apartment to monitor their activities. Although it was dangerous for them to attend church, they never missed a Sabbath and provided encouragement for the local Adventists. Since retiring in Walla Walla, the Panasuks have stayed busy with mission trips and volunteer work. Looking back, they can clearly see God’s divine hand orchestrating their lives. “God was always protecting and leading,” they say. “He’s always there. All we have to do is ask.”—EMILY HUSO ’17
ENDOWED FUNDS & SCHOLARSHIPS (continued from page 21)
During the 2019–20 WWU Awards Celebration last April,
632
students received scholarship funds provided by WWU alumni and friends.
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Westwind Fall 2020
Grellmann Family Scholarship J. Paul Grove Memorial Scholarship John J. Hafner Music Scholarship Lovyl and Mary Hagle Memorial Worthy Student Scholarship Richard and Dena Hammill Memorial Scholarship Thomas Hampson Humanities Merit Scholarship Howard E. Hanafin Scholarship Clyde and Mary Harris Challenge Grant Pauline Hart Memorial Social Work Scholarship Richard and Georgiana Hayden Christian Service Scholarship Rodney Heisler Engineering Scholarship/Grant
Robert A. and Solange Henderson Memorial History Scholarship Wilma E. Hepker Scholarship Paul and Frances Heubach Memorial Theology Scholarship Jess Holm Memorial Scholarship Juanita Wagner Holm Memorial Nursing Scholarship Helen and Archie Howatson Nursing Scholarship Oland F. Hubbs Memorial Theology Scholarship Vera Johnson Hubbs Memorial Business Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Harold Huber Scholarship Wynelle J. Huff Nursing Scholarship
Jess M. Hutson, M.D., Memorial Scholarship IBCC Jensen Memorial Math Scholarship Dr. Gordon Johnson Physics Scholarship Murray L. and Ilene Johnstone Scholarship Carl and Lucile Jones Nursing Scholarship Peggy Henderson Kaye Nursing Scholarship Robert Kaye, M.D., Rosario Scholarship Helen Wineberg Kendall Women in Business Scholarship KGTS Positive Life Radio Announcer Fund Betty Klein Engineering Scholarship Rudolf and Anna Klimes Learn Well Physical Education Scholarship A. H. and Mary Koorenny Memorial Scholarship
Robert H. and Thorna Koorenny Scholarship Kretschmar Hall Maintenance Luella Latham Kretschmar Memorial Scholarship Laura G. Larson Memorial Nursing Scholarship H. Lloyd Leno Memorial Music Scholarship Lewiston/Clarkston Scholarship Paul Lindgren * NEW! History Scholarship Jennie M. Livingston Memorial Library Fund Dr. C. Stanley Lloyd Jr. Scholarship Kelly Logan Social Work Scholarship Romulo and Mercedes Lozano Scholarship Mary E. Marker Memorial Theology Scholarship Roy and Lois (Dorland) Martin English Scholarship Sukhdev Mathaudhu Engineering Scholarship
Mathematics Alumni Scholarship Dorothy and Byron Miller Mathematics Scholarship Warren Matheson Memorial Christian Service Scholarship Matiko Theology Award Harden M. McConnell and Alvin L. Kwiram Award Eldena McDow Scholarship Jacob G. and Lois A. Mehling Business Scholarship Messenger/Loewen Scholarship Jack Evan Miles Memorial Scholarship MariAnne Jensen Moore Memorial Nursing Scholarship Wilda Means Morasch Nursing Scholarship Joseph and Beth Murray Memorial Scholarship for Resident Assistants
Adventure begins 2019–2020 ANNUAL REPORT
WANT TO GET INVOLVED? A vital part of Walla Walla University is the volunteers who are dedicated to helping the university thrive.
Music Scholarship Dan and Mary Morrison Necker Scholarship Llewellyn and Vivian Nixon Scholarship Nursing Scholarship Daniel A. Ochs Memorial Theology Scholarship Alfred R. Ogden * NEW! Endowed Theology Award Mary Ogden * NEW! Art Scholarship Orland Ogden * NEW! Memorial Music Scholarship Orland & Mary * NEW! Ogden Music Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Howard Osborne Scholarship
Blythe Owen Music Scholarship Doreen Paulson-Evans Memorial Scholarship Yvonne Pickett Memorial Scholarship Piper-Johanson Scholarship Helen L. Popoway Endowment Robert L. Reynolds Excellence in History Scholarship Robert M. Reynolds Memorial Scholarship Donald W. Rigby Biology Award Donald W. Rigby Biology Faculty Research Donnie Rigby Drama Award
“True faith endures under difficult times.” —LARRY PANASUK
Rigby Hall Maintenance John D. Rogers, M.D., Memorial Scholarship Rosario Marine Station Maintenance Rowsell Family Memorial Scholarship James and ThaisThrasher Sadoyama Scholarship Doyle B. and Lorelei Pierce Saxby Business Scholarship Gayle L. Saxby Memorial Scholarship Schlotthauer-Risinger Math Scholarship Eleanor B. Schofield Memorial Teachers Scholarship John Montgomery Schultz Engineering Fund Donavon and Marcella Schwisow Scholarship Seibly Family Endowed Scholarship Cecil W. Shankel Memorial Chemistry Scholarship Shattuck/Zitterbart Memorial Nursing Scholarship
EVELYN BERGMAN has worked as the volunteer coordinator for WWU since June 2001 when she took over the role from Lois Hellie, who started the program. Bergman, whose husband H.J. Bergman ’48 was WWU president from 1985 to 1990, already spent much of her time volunteering for WWU and wanted to take an even more active role. Volunteering helped fill her need to spend time with people and to support the university. For the past 19 years Bergman has worked alongside other volunteers on projects such as
Evelyn Bergman, WWU first lady from 1985–90.
Donald and Virginia Sherwood Memorial Scholarship Herbert Z. and Jessie K. Shiroma Scholarship Endowment Carolyn Stevens Shultz English Scholarship Dan Shultz Music Scholarship Robert and Susan Smith First Generation Endowed Scholarship Robert and Susan Smith Social Work and Sociology Scholarship Solomon Scholarship Gene and Betty Soper Music Scholarship Robert L. Spies Memorial Scholarship Glenn Spring Music Scholarship Eldon and Barbara Jean Stratton Scholarship Joseph L. Stubblefield Memorial Scholarship Janis Suelzle Memorial Student Missionary Fund
T5 Foundation Business Excellence Fund Stephen and Margaret Tan Engineering/ Computer Science Scholarship Theology Library Book Fund George and Lola Thompson Memorial Scholarship Thomas M. Thompson and Kenneth L. Wiggins Excellence in Mathematics Scholarship Harry and Ella Thornton Memorial Scholarship E. E. and Jane Breese-Trefz Christian Service Scholarship Clarence O. Trubey Memorial Music Scholarship Undergraduate Advanced Study Marilyn K. (Dammrose) Van Stee Memorial Nursing Scholarship Verde Fund for Graduate Marine Research
helping the university set up for large events like Alumni Weekend, Family Weekend, JumpStart, and more. Often volunteers will meet to stuff envelopes as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteering on campus has largely
come to a halt; however, one group of volunteers has worked to fix warm meals and deliver them to students in quarantine. Volunteers need “a willing heart,” said Bergman. “That’s about the only thing. Everything else they can be shown how to do.” Currently, Bergman works alongside more than 55 volunteers, and she is always happy to welcome new people to the team. To learn more about volunteering at WWU, call (800) 377-2586 or email alumni@walla walla.edu.
Eva Stratton Vliet and Jess Vliet Scholarship Dennis L. Vories, PE, Engineering Scholarship Stanley E. Walker Music Scholarship Raymond L. * NEW! and Rosemary Watts Scholarship Francys C. Welch Scholarship Melvin K. West Music Scholarship Lois Whitchurch Nursing Scholarship Monte Wilkins Memorial Scholarship John and Inez Willey Family Memorial Scholarship WWU Student Aid Randy Yaw Pi Contest Scholarship Young Memorial Lecture in Biology Norma R. Youngberg Scholarship
Westwind Fall 2020
23
Alumni Currents
Staying in touch with our family of graduates
AlumNotes
Get up to date with fellow WWU alumni. Submit your information for AlumNotes at wallawalla.edu/alumnotes.
1960s
pleting a pastoral degree. In her role at LLUMC she now works to nurture the spiritual health of employees. She and Jim have two children: Lisa ’12 and Mark ’13. Kathy writes that one of her favorite memories of WWU is of working as the student association social vice president with Susan Perry Hager. “We had a fabulous team of officers with Russ Wilkinson as president.”
Judith Toop ’63 lives in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, where she is retired from her work as a science teacher. Judith writes that studying and teaching at the Rosario Beach Marine Station is her favorite memory of Walla Walla University.
1970s Judy (Standish) Krueger ’70 and her husband, Elvin ’71, live in Cleveland, Tenn. Judy retired in 2014 after teaching for many years at Port Charlotte Adventist School in Florida. After graduating from WWU, she worked for a year as an assistant dean of women before she and Elvin moved to Loma Linda, Calif., where Elvin completed an internship in dietetics. They have lived in Stoneham, Mass., where Elvin worked at New England Memorial Hospital, and where, Judy writes, they “thoroughly enjoyed getting immersed in the history of the area and the beauty of the fall. We also tapped maple trees and made gallons of maple syrup.” During their time in Massachusetts, their two daughters, Shauna and Penny, were born. In 1978 they moved to Paradise, Calif., to be closer to family until seven years later they made the trek back to the East coast, this time to Florida. After retirement they moved to Tennessee to be closer to their grandchildren. Judy writes that her favorite memory of her time at WWU is of meeting her husband. “We met because we had some of the same classes. We married in August 1970 and then he was my main supporter as I worked that next year as an assistant dean at the college.”
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Westwind Fall 2020
Ruth (Gilliland) Mackenzie ’71 lives in Yakima, Wash., with her husband, Edward ’67. Ruth and Edward enjoy mission work and have been to the Philippines more than 10 times where they are currently helping to rebuild churches and support some of the students. Ruth has made school uniforms for students at The King’s Children’s Home in Belize, and she and Edward have traveled to several countries where they work on evangelistic projects and Ruth presents health information. She also enjoys gardening and sharing produce with family and friends. The Mackenzies have four children: Vaughn ’92, Lawana Balance att., Jon ’01, and Richard ’01. Two of their grandchildren, Seth and Jared, are currently attending WWU. Ruth writes that one of her favorite memories of WWU is “the summer of 1962 that I spent at the Rosario Biology Station. There I had some very happy memories, cabin living, the tide pools, and the bird counts on bird island.” Kathy (McHan) McMillan att. and her husband, Jim, live in Yucaipa, Calif. Kathy is the director of employee spiritual care at Loma Linda University Medical Center and Jim is a nephrologist at the veteran’s hospital in Loma Linda, Calif. After attending WWU, Kathy completed a degree in nursing at LLUMC. She worked as an oncology nurse for a number of years before com-
Rae (Depner) Rich ’70 lives in Chewelah, Wash., with her husband, Al. Rae studied nursing at WWU and worked as a nurse for 20 years before going back to school to become a massage therapist. She owned her own massage therapy business, Country Massage Therapy, for 28 years before retiring in December 2019. She and Al live on a small farm where they have an orchard and vegetable and flower gardens. She enjoys sewing, knitting, crocheting, gardening, and volunteering in the community. The Riches have three children: Heidi Nelson att., Kristen MacKenzie, and Nathan Boggs. Rae writes that one of her favorite memories of her time at WWU is of “Friday night vespers in the College Church.” Edward A. Harris ’76 retired in 2014 after 32 years as a police officer, working mostly in the Seattle area. Ed writes, “My undergraduate degree, theology, brought me into Dr. Larry Lewis’ classes of pastoral care and counseling. I then went to Andrews University and took additional classes in counseling while working on a Masters of Divinity. No better training than pastoral care and counseling could I have received that would later be used as a police officer than those classes. Police officers deal with the pain of society in a direct and personal way that no other government servant ever does.” Ed says that applying active listening helped him work to assist victims of crime, and his
training from communication professor Donnie Rigby provided the skills he needed to speak in public to help train other officers. “Overall, my training from WWU gave me the foundation to be a successful deputy sheriff and then a police officer,” he says. Ed says he has enjoyed following the stories and careers of his classmates in Westwind over the years. Some of his fondest memories of his time at WWU were of working as a resident counselor (now known as resident assistants) for two years under the guidance of Dean Loewen and Dean Meske. “These two men are giants in my college experience. I looked forward to every night in Dean Loewen’s office when all the RCs would gather and listen to these two men give us insight into issues that we, as RCs, were dealing with. I matured and grew personally under their tutelage. I am most certain that their influence assisted me in my personal life success.”
1980s Ginger KettingWeller ’85 and her husband, Jim Weller ’80, recently moved to the Philippines from Riverside, Calif., where Ginger is president of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, an educational institution operated by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists that offers graduate programs in theology, education, business, and public health. The AIIAS includes students from more than 60 countries. Jim is principal of the AIIAS Academy and a faculty member in the AIIAS education department. “I am loving being back in the part of the world where I was born and grew up until the age of 18,” writes Ginger. “In this first year [at AIIAS] we have weathered the Taal Volcano eruption 14 miles away and gracing us with ash fall, a campus burglar, and now the spread of coronavirus in our region. And we’re building a new academy building. Never a dull moment; we are right where God wants us to be.” Ginger and Jim have three children: Brandy ’01,
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Arthur Slagle ’75 Arthur Slagle ’75 and his wife, Genie, live in Candler, N.C. Art retired in 2019 after a long and distinguished career as a pastor and chaplain. He is the recipient of the Chapel of Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award and has received more than 25 military awards and decorations, including the Purple Heart, Combat Aircrews Wings, three Navy– Marine Corps Commendation awards, and most recently the 2018 Chaplain of the Year award from the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol Wing. From 2012 to 2019 Slagle was assistant director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries for the Southeast region. From 2003 to 2012, he was director of pastoral care at Park Ridge Hospital in Fletcher, N.C. His ministry also includes 21 years as a Navy chaplain (retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander), six years as a Marine (including combat duty in Vietnam), three years teaching in the Potomac Conference, and eight years pastoring in the Greater New York Conference. Slagle has been a chaplain with the Civil Air Patrol for the past seven years and has served as chaplain for various law enforcement and fire and rescue agencies for 18 years. Slagle grew up in the Bronx in an Orthodox Jewish family. He became a Seventh-day Adventist when a nurse gave him a copy of Steps to Christ when he was in the Marine Corps. Now he enjoys listening to that book on CD as he drives. Slagle’s favorite memories of his time at WWU include speech class from Donnie Rigby, Bing cherries, Walla Walla sweet onions, and working as an announcer for KGTS on Friday nights. He and his wife, Genie, have a blended family of three sons, one daughter, and several grandchildren. Arthur Slagle ’75 served as a student missionary in Korea in 1972.
Jasmine, and Micah ’06. Ginger writes that her favorite memories of her time at WWU are of taking the honors general studies program, which she says was “lifechanging,” and later working with her administrative colleagues when she was an associate vice president at WWU. Dorita (Perry) Tessier ’80 lives in Walla Walla where she works as director for gift planning at Walla Walla University. She writes, “For the past 18 years I have had the opportunity to work at Walla Walla University. It has been a
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blessing to work together with alumni and friends to support the mission of the university.” Dorita also enjoys traveling to faraway places and spending time with friends and family. She and her late husband, Mark ’81, have two daughters, Melissa Tessier Rae ’95 and Michelle Tessier Werner att. Dorita writes that her favorite memories of her time at WWU include working for Dr. Eichner in the public relations office and coordinating band tours across the Pacific Northwest, during which she met her husband. She also fondly remembers helping to coordinate and ushering for lyceum programs, speech class with Donnie Rigby, and Friday evening vespers and evensong programs.
1990s Robert Aaron ’90 lives in Shelton, Wash., where he works in a variety of positions. He writes, “I have been with the Olympia School District, Olympia, Wash., as a school bus driver for 10 years. At the same time I was hired by the school district, I was hired to be the church musician for North Bay Lutheran Community Church in Allyn, Wash. In 2013, I signed up to be a volunteer actor with the Washington State Patrol.” As a volunteer actor Robert is part of the training process for trooper basic cadets. He impersonates drunk drivers, people driving with a suspended license, or people being investigated for weapons violations. Robert enjoys playing bass guitar, accordion, piano, and organ. In addition to his work as church musician at the Lutheran church, he plays organ and piano at the local Seventh-day Adventist church in Shelton. He also enjoys amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts. Robert writes that his favorite memories of his time at WWU include Afterglow in the lobby of Sittner Hall on Friday nights. Loy Anderson ’91 is owner and medical director for Thriven Functional Medicine in Great Falls, Mont., where she lives. Loy writes that her work is “all about getting to the root cause and treating the whole person to create abundant health.” In her free time she enjoys spending time outside in Montana hiking, snowshoeing, biking, and rollerblading. “When not on the ground, I get in the air and enjoy flying,” she writes, “even if there are clouds, which is why I have my IFR rating.” Loy also enjoys trips to the coast and teaching and serving in her local church. “My greatest joy is looking forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face one day,” she writes. Her favorite memories of her time at WWU are of “Friday night vespers, listening to Kraig Scott play the organ in the church, and spending the summer at Rosario. I remember a talent show there that involved a Viking hat and song. Great memories!”
Robert Aaron ’90
Benjamin (Benji) Bollinger ’99 and ’00 lives in Springdale, Wash., with his wife, Jennifer att. Benji writes that his favorite memories of WWU include snowboarding at Bluewood with friends and meeting his wife. Sam Tooley ’95 and his wife, Lynn, live in Tacoma, Wash., with their children, Sam Jr. and John. Sam is a band and orchestra teacher for Tacoma Public Schools. “I love teaching middle school students to play musical instruments and making music with my family,” he writes. “My sons, Sam and John, play violin and cello, and my wife, Lynn, plays flute, so I’ve been learning the viola to try to keep up with them when we play quartets.” The Tooleys also enjoy birding and hobby board games, and Sam writes, “I like working on my model railroad depicting the Northern Pacific in Tacoma in the 1890s.” Sam is the treasurer for the Lacey Seventh-Day Adventist Church and for the Commencement Bay Music Educators Association. Sam writes that his favorite memories of his time at WWU include playing in the symphony and other musical groups and hanging out with friends in the Fine Arts Center.
Sam Tooley ’95 and family
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Alumni Currents
Staying in touch with our family of graduates
Smoke-filled WW valley tests Kuzma endurance In mid-September, as the Walla Walla Valley filled with smoke from wildfires burning up and down the West Coast, Micaiah Kuzma ’98 prepared to run the Boston Marathon—virtually(and we don’t mean “nearly” or “almost”). When he originally heard that the marathon would be held virtually because of COVID-19 restrictions, Kuzma wasn’t interested in participating. He had run the Boston Marathon eight times before and with 13 total marathons on his résumé, it seemed like an easy decision to opt out this year. But marathon runners don’t quit, and so on Sept. 12 Kuzma prepared to officially run the Boston Marathon in Walla Walla, with an air quality index rating of nearly 300 (300 and above is considered hazardous to health). “I decided that this will hopefully be the only virtual Boston Marathon in history, and I wanted to be able to say that I had been a part of that,” said Kuzma. Kuzma also said that running during the pandemic gave him the feeling of holding on to something from “pre-COVID” life. The smoke? That only added to his motivation—he saw it as another opportunity to overcome the many obstacles that 2020 has dealt. Kuzma is a WWU biology graduate. He began running during medical school when he wanted to challenge himself with a goal of consistency. “I decided I would try running at least one mile every single day without missing any days. I started running on Feb. 25, 2002, and have not missed a day since,” he said. This year, a friend of Kuzma’s traveled from Portland to Walla Walla for the marathon to provide encouragement and support—and water and snacks from the bin on his scooter! With a bad Achilles tendon and minimal training, Kuzma hoped to finish just under four hours but surprised himself with a finish time of three hours and 24 minutes. “Even though this was one of my slowest marathons it is also one of my very favorites because of the adversity overcome and because I got to do it with my friend at my side,” said Kuzma.
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Shelley Wallace ’96 is a technical officer working in prevention of noncommunicable diseases for the World Health Organization. Her family recently moved from Auburn, Wash., to Fiji where her work is centered. After graduating from WWU she attended Loma Linda University before working in tribal health care in rural Alaska and Washington state and for state and local public health organizations in Washington. She and her two children, Kira and JaRoy, attend the Tamavua Seventh-day Adventist Church in Fiji. Shelley writes: “I have had opportunities to volunteer with EyeWitness Missions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They do amazing work that inspired me to make a change in my life that led to my current position.” Shelley enjoys hiking, and in 2018 she completed the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park with her son and cousin. “It was an epic experience, and I highly recommend it,” she writes. Of her time at WWU, Shelley writes, “I enjoyed the classes and great teachers, the lovely campus, and the experience living in the dorm and making friends.”
2000s Logan Drayson ’05 and his wife, Britani, live in Escondido, Calif., with their children. Logan is a web and video content creator for Titleist Golf. He writes that his favorite memories of his time at WWU are of working at the SAC, Mac lab, weight room, and filming the sports teams. “These jobs led to many long lasting relationships with my fellow Walla Walla alumni.”
2010s Rachel (Thornton) Graham ’14 and her husband, Nathan, live in Albany, Ore. Rachel works on the neuro/trauma care unit at Salem Health as a registered nurse. “Let’s just say it never gets boring,” she writes. She hopes to one day work in NICU or ICU and return to school for a doctorate in order to be a nurse practitioner. Rachel writes that “curling up with a hot cup of tea and a good book is one of my favorite things to do.” She also enjoys cross stitching, sewing, and “crafty endeavors, usually done while catching up on one of my various favorite TV shows.” She and Nathan also enjoy many types of gaming, including video games and board games. “There’s something unique about coming together with a group of friends and creating a story together,” she writes. Rachel writes that her favorite memories of her time at WWU were of the drama club—especially productions of My Fair Lady and Romeo and Juliet—and of all the music. She enjoyed being part of choir, taking organ lessons from Kraig Scott, and all the concerts and vespers programs. Gloria Okafor ’12 and her husband, Samuel, live in Gresham, Ore. After graduating from the master of social work program at WWU, Gloria worked for Telecare and Legacy Health Systems helping people who were experiencing mental illness. She is currently self-employed and writing children’s books. She has three grown children. Gloria writes that her favorite memories of her time at WWU include “amazing professors with a wealth of knowledge. They made graduating from the program easy because of their passion to teach, impart knowledge, and their dedication.”
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2020/2021
DON’T MISS OUT ON WESTWIND THIS YEAR! To be thoughtful about how we support students and equip our campus for safe learning, Walla Walla University has opted to print only the fall issue of Westwind in 2020–2021. We still have plenty of good news to report and wonderful alumni stories to share, so we will also deliver the spring and summer issues to you online. When those issues are ready for you, we will send you an email with a link for easy access. Help us ensure you receive each issue by updating your email address now.*
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If you do not have access to email, please call (800) 377-2586 to make other arrangements to receive Westwind. Stay safe, stay strong, WWU!
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Take a moment now to submit your email address so we can deliver the spring and summer issues of Westwind to you! THREE EASY UPDATE OPTIONS:
• Complete the online form at wallawalla.edu/ westwind. • Send an email with your information to westwind@wallawalla.edu. • Call us at (800) 377-2586.
Alumni Currents
Staying in touch with our family of graduates
In Memory
Kontong att.; sister Wilma Miller of Salem, Ore.; and brother Stanley of Chewelah, Wash.
Family members may submit obituary information for their loved ones at wallawalla.edu/obituary. Anton Frederik Andersen att. was born in 1945 in National City, Calif., and died Dec. 25, 2018, in San Diego, Calif., at age 73. Surviving: sisters Alicia Cooley and Julia Marine. Virginia Armstrong ’02 was born in 1952 in Fargo, N.D., and died July 4, 2020, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, at age 68. Surviving: daughters Melissa of Idaho Falls, Kimberly Simpson of Pahoa, Hawaii, Rebecca Armstrong Jones of Idaho Falls, and Jessica Sherwood of Boise; and son Jared of Idaho Falls. Betty Barnett ’52 was born in 1929 in Seattle, Wash., and died Jan. 27, 2020, in Kirkland, Wash., at age 90. Surviving: daughter
Jeanie ’78 of Issaquah, Wash.; and son Gerald ’81 of Lynnwood, Wash. Hertha Katherine “Kay” (Long) Johnson Bresee att. was born in 1932 in Salem, Ore., and died Feb. 20, 2020, in Salem at age 87. Surviving: sister Verna Holbrook. Paloma (Tillman) Chalker att. was born in 1922 in Lodi, Calif., and died Feb. 4, 2020, in Collegedale, Tenn., at age 97. Surviving: daughter Donna Lopez att. of Collegedale; and sons Byron Jr. of Defiance, Ohio, and Ronald of Templeton, Calif. James J. Cox ’56 was born in 1925 in New Zealand and died April 13, 2020, in Apopka, Florida, at age 94. Surviving: son John of Apopka.
Ella Charlene Dingman ’00 was born in 1956 in Rexburg, Idaho, and died May 3, 2020, in Pocatello, Idaho, at age 63. Surviving: husband Michael of Pocatello; daughter Melissa Bates of Gaithersburg, Md.; son Christopher of Bozeman, Mont.; sister Emma Fields of Bonners Ferry, Idaho; and brothers David Fields of Wenatchee, Wash., Gene Fields of Florida, Randy Fields of Black Diamond, Wash., and Frank Fields of Newnan, Ga. Richard Clair Hall ’50 was born in 1925 in Riverside, Wash., and died Feb. 18, 2018, in Brawley, Calif., at age 92. Surviving: wife Jean Marie Hall att. of Lebanon, Ore.; daughters Janice Schirmer ’74 of Gladstone, Ore., and Riki
Jesse Edward Maxted Ed Maxted att. moved with his wife, Norma, and their children to College Place in 1963 where Ed became the shop foreman in the transportation department at WWU. He held that position until his retirement in 1982. Ed was born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1921. His parents
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moved the family to Caldwell, Idaho, when Ed was young, and Ed graduated from Gem State Academy in 1939. He attended La Sierra University and WWU before being drafted for World War II. Upon returning from the service Ed married Norma Dennis in 1945. They lived and farmed in Clarkston and later Grandview, Wash. While in Grandview they started their family as Ed made a career change. At this time he began working for the Kaiser-Frazier Automotive Corporation and later opened his own auto repair shop, Ed’s Automotive. It was the skills he honed during this time that brought him back to WWU in 1963. Through the years, Ed taught first aid classes, enjoyed photography, and led Pathfinders. His woodwork-
Edward J. Harri ’68 was born in 1946 in Duluth, Minn., and died March 1, 2020, in Salem, Ore., at age 73. Surviving: wife Patricia (Tonole) Harri ’67 of Salem; daughters Elizabeth Erler of Jacksonville, Fla., and Erin of Hillsboro, Ore.; son Edward III of Bellingham, Wash.; and brother James of Walla Walla. Brent W. Hildebrand ’77 was born Oct. 14, 1955, in Madison, Wis., and died June 3, 2020, in Loma Linda, Calif., at age 64. Surviving: wife Jeanne of Loma Linda; sons Kurt ’14 of Loma Linda and Mark ’15 of Davis, Calif.; sister Kathleen Borchardt of Berrien Springs, Mich.; brother Bradley of Berrien Springs; and mother Dorothy of Berrien Springs. Jane Igler ’58 was born in 1936 in Stretton-under-Fosse, England, and died June 20, 2018, in Loma Linda, Calif., at age 81. Surviving: husband David ’58 of Loma Linda; son Peter of Newport Coast, Calif.;
Gillian Fisher ing projects received special recognition at the Walla Walla County Fair. He and Norma enjoyed canning and freezing local produce and tending their own large garden. Ed played the trumpet and piano and enjoyed singing with his children. In addition to their own seven children, he and Norma were foster parents for many children over a 25year period. Ed passed away on March 11, 2020. He is survived by daughters Martha Schaffer att. of Covington, Wash., Susan ’83 of College Place, Elly of Milton-Freewater, and Candace Seely of Touchet; sons Glenn ’77 of College Place, Stan ’81 of Walla Walla, and Greg of College Place; nine grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Gillian Fisher att. moved to College Place in 1975 with her husband, Garth att., and their two young daughters. She was an active leader in the children’s Sabbath school classes and later in Pathfinders. In 1982, after the children were old enough to attend Rogers Adventist School, Gill began her career at Walla Walla University. She eventually became director of Alumni Relations at WWU where she was responsible for coordinating alumni activities on and off campus. She held this position until 2002 when she and Garth moved to Dayton, Ohio. Gill was recognized for planning and executing events and other projects with meticulous attention to detail and for having a warm smile for those she met. In Dayton, she served her church as newsletter editor for many years. Gill was born in England in 1944. She went to her rest on March 23, 2020, at Hospice of Dayton with her
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and brothers Malcolm Murdoch ’60 of Redlands, Calif., and Todd Murdoch of Loma Linda. William Littlejohn ’70 was born in 1946 in Los Angeles, Calif., and died Dec. 12, 2019, in Sequim, Wash., at age 72. Surviving: wife Esther (Hamer) att. of Sequim; daughter Lindsay att. of Portland, Ore.; sisters Lorraine Walden att. of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Lois Clark att. of Riverside, Calif.; and brother Robert ’67 of Lewiston, Idaho. David Andrew Lomeland ’71 was born April 17, 1941, in Big Timber, Mont., and died May 18, 2020, in Walla Walla at age 79. Surviving: wife Vivian (Larson) ’63 of College Place and son Jonathan ’92 of Touchet, Wash. Donald Lonnstrom ’69 was born in 1931 in Virginia, Minn., and died Oct. 25, 2019, in Sonora, Calif., at age 88. Surviving: wife Barbara (Vaughan) ’64 of Sonora; and sons Corey of San Leandro, Calif., Jerel of Carefree, Ariz., and Marc ’92 of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Peter Maher ’61 was born in 1932 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and died Jan. 15, 2020, in Portland, Ore., at age 87. Surviving: daughters Traci Prewitt att. of Annandale, Minn., and Shannon of Portland; son Jeff att. of Portland; and brothers Tom att. of College Place and Jack. Virgil Reynolds att. was born Oct. 10, 1930, in Walla Walla and died April 28, 2020, in Richland, Wash., at age 89. Surviving: wife Sandra of Walla Walla; daughter Deanna of Moses Lake, Wash.; and son Daryl of Sequim, Wash. Richard M. Ritland ’46 was born in 1925 in Grants Pass, Ore., and died Dec. 13, 2019, in Olympia, Wash., at age 94. Surviving: wife Juanita att. of Olympia; daughter Beth Ritland of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada; sons Stephen of Flagstaff, Ariz., Stanley of Ophir, Ore., John of Olympia, and Forrest of Flagstaff. Ray Rumsey ’59 was born in 1927 in Potterville, Mich., and died Nov. 9, 2019, in Ooltewah,
Tenn., at age 92. Surviving: wife Verginia of Ooltewah; and sons Greg of Ooltewah and Mark of Charlotte, N.C.
Redlands, Caral Tan of Redlands, Esther Tan Kan of Grand Terrace, Calif.; and brother James Tan of Portland, Ore.
Theodore Shankel ’84 was born in 1961 in Glendale, Calif., and died July 11, 2020, in Calimesa, Calif., at age 58. Surviving: wife Tamara of Calimesa; daughters Jaclyn Shankel Nash ’16 of Redlands, Calif., and Kathryn att. of Calimesa; son Matthew ’19 of Los Angeles; father Stewart ’54 of Redlands; sister Martha Shankel Ward ’92 of Medford, Ore.; and brothers Stewart ’81 of Murphy, Texas, and Jeffrey ’84 of Long Beach, Calif.
Michael Tillay att. was born in 1955 in Walla Walla and died Jan. 23, 2020, in Walla Walla at age 64. Surviving: wife Colleen ’77 of Walla Walla; daughter Jenny ’05 of Yucaipa, Calif.; son Jon att. of Modesto, Calif.; mother Mary Lou of College Place; and sisters Debbi Short att. of Montrose, Colo., and Tammy Seidel ’87 of Richland, Wash.
Samuel Tan ’65 was born in 1941 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and died July 2, 2008, in Los Angeles, Calif., at age 66. Surviving: wife Joyce of Pasadena, Calif.; daughters Jannine Tan Whitaker of Glendale, Calif., and Shelley Tan Andersson of Pasadena, Calif.; sisters Alice Tan Yang of San Dimas, Calif., Elsie Tan ’69 of Redlands, Calif., Linda Tan Hop of Milpitas, Calif., Karen Tan of
Dennis Winter att. was born in 1946 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and died July 1, 2020, in Pasco, Wash., at age 73. Surviving: wife Darlene att. of Pasco; daughter Kimberly Murdoch att. of Walla Walla; and son David att. of Walla Walla. Curtis Wuellner ’93 was born in 1970 in Monroe, Ohio, and died Aug. 8, 2020, in Statesville, N.C., at age 50. Surviving: wife Kimberlee att. of Statesville and sons Brixon and Jaxon.
Ilo Hutton
family by her side. She is survived by Garth, her husband of 53 years; their daughters Michelle Leming ’96 of Leduc, Alberta, Canada, and Ranelle Erickson att. of Sutton, Massachusetts; and three granddaughters. She will also be missed by her extended family and a host of friends. Donations in Gill’s memory may be made to the Student Missions program at Walla Walla University.
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Ilo (Hendricksen) Hutton att. lived with a passion for people that was evident in her work as the dean of women at WWU. She was generous, loved helping others, and gave from her heart. Her willingness to work for the good of others warmed many hearts and left a mark on countless lives. Ilo was born in Charlo, Mont., in 1930. She was the third of six children born to Alfred and Nellie Hendricksen. Throughout high school she attended Upper Columbia Academy during the school year and the Modern Business College in Missoula, Mont., during the summers. She graduated from high school in 1948 and in 1949 received a business degree. She worked as a secretary in various positions in
Missoula before becoming dean of women at Mount Ellis Academy in 1974. In 1976 Ilo became assistant dean of women at Walla Walla University. She moved to the Portland campus to be dean of women in 1983, returned to College Place to be head dean of women in 1986, and held that position until 1994. Ilo raised four children alone at a time when there was little support for single mothers. While she worked, she made it a priority to spend time with her children. She and her family treasured many moments waterskiing and boating on Flathead Lake, and because of Ilo’s influence, her children grew to love nature and the outdoors. Ilo was known for her adventurous spirit and her love of life. She was playful and
had a great capacity for fun. Her smile brought much joy to the people around her, yet she was wise and strict when the need arose. Ilo went to rest on Nov. 12, 2019, in Walla Walla. She is survived by her daughter Deborah ’76 of Polson, Mont.; sons Jeff ’77 of Florence, Mont., Greg ’80 of Florence, and David ’85 of Walla Walla; brothers Dale Hendricksen ’58 of Missoula, and Stan Hendricksen of Lolo; and four grandchildren.
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Alumni Currents
Staying in touch with our family of graduates
BACK TO YOU // KATE BECK ’14
The journey doesn’t end here
It was day 10 of a 35-day trek with my father on the Camino de Santiago—a 500-mile, ancient pilgrimage stretching from the Pyrenees in France to the city of Santiago de Compostela in the northeastern corner of Spain. It had always been my dream to one day walk the Camino. When my mom passed away in September 2018 after a too-short battle with lung cancer, I knew it was time. I had read the books, the blogs, the articles; they all said the Camino will change your life. The day started promisingly. The sun shone brightly, and the morning breeze blew crisp and refreshing. We had just finished breakfast in a small town in the La Rioja region after a 5-mile walk that began in the dark but progressed through lush, green vineyards sparkling in the early light. We fueled up on fresh-squeezed zumo de naranja and tortilla española outside the cafe, our boots on the ground beside us, our socks draped over the unused chairs at our table, airing out. Now back on the trail, Dad picked up the pace, his walking poles hitting the ground in a steady rhythm slightly ahead of me, unaware of my discovery. He’s going to kill me, I thought. I had asked my father to walk the Camino de Santiago with me a year before. To my surprise, he said yes. To his surprise, he didn’t back out.
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The journey had already challenged both of us more than we thought possible. My feet had become almost unbearable to even stand on after about 11 miles each day, so we’d had to cut back on our daily distance and send my pack ahead to each hostel. While this was discouraging and disappointing to me, I could tell it was a relief to Dad. He confided later that for the first week he secretly hoped we’d have to give up, saving him from the hundreds of miles he didn’t believe he could physically—or mentally—conquer. To now attempt 20 miles in one day would be pushing us both far past what we believed we could endure. I started brainstorming solutions in my head. Could we bus to our hostel? Probably not; the last two towns were both in the middle of nowhere and wouldn’t have a bus line. A taxi wouldn’t work either—we’d only be able to grab one in the nearest city and it would cost a small fortune to get us where we needed to go. Hitchhiking ... best possibility, but also highest possibility of us being murdered—Dad wouldn’t like that—so it was out too. I would have to confess, without a real solution to offer. I cringed, waiting for his reply. He paused a beat, and then spoke, “We can do it.” From that moment on, it was solidified in our minds: We were going to walk these 20 miles. And, surprisingly, we did. We would never have signed up to walk that far, thinking there was
absolutely no way we could make it. When we were left with no choice, we found we could do more than we first thought, and in the end, we made it to our hostel, exhausted, aching, blistered, but outrageously proud of ourselves. There would be many more hard days on the Camino—hot days, long days, boring days, not-enough-sleep days. But we knew no matter how difficult it got, we had what it took to push through the challenges that came our way. My problems weren’t all solved nor my grief all processed by the time we stepped into the plaza in Santiago, the end of the Camino. But maybe the “solutions” aren’t a destination we’re meant to arrive at. Many pilgrims will tell you, there’s nothing special in Santiago; the magic isn’t in the city or the cathedral—the magic is in the way. Many pilgrims will also tell you, “The real Camino begins once you leave the Camino.” While we walked, we weren’t sure what this journey would mean, but once we arrived in Santiago it became clear that it wasn’t finished; the journey wouldn’t end here. But it had shown us both that we were stronger and more capable than we thought for whatever the journey ahead would bring. Kate Beck graduated in 2014 with a bachelor of arts degree, majors in English and Spanish.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KATE BECK
I
froze, staring at the red-dotted line on my phone. My stomach dropped. I had miscalculated the distance when sending our backpacks ahead to the next hostel. Now instead of walking an alreadychallenging 15 miles for the day, it would be an impossible 20.
Kate Beck and her dad, Brandon, enjoy a moment of fun during their trek.
How has the
Walla Walla University Fund made a difference to students?
Katie “WWU has shown me the hardships of responsibility, financial literacy, and overcoming obstacles through the power of prayer.”
Mike “I believe WWU has helped me create better connections with people.”
Joni “I feel that it has become a second home to me and I have made lifelong friends in the short time that I have been here.”
Support students like these, and make your gift today at wallawalla.edu/give.
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See you there!
Upcoming events to note on your calendar
PROTECT THE PACK Learn about our safety measures and protocols, our COVID-19 Code of Conduct, and how we’re caring for each other at wallawalla.edu/ coronavirus.
HOMECOMING We hope to meet in person for a combined 2020 and
2021 Homecoming Weekend in April.
We will celebrate the anniversary of Village Hall, student missions, art majors, and the Atlas. Pencil in April 22–25 and watch for updates at wallawalla. edu/homecoming.
SABBATH MORNINGS
‘THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN BELIEF’
12 WAYS TO SUPPORT WWU
The University Church service is a
Watch a recording of the 2020–21 WWU
Looking for new ways to share your love of WWU? You’ll find resources, news, and ideas on our WWU alumni website at wallawalla.edu/alumni, including WWU swag, info about student internships, the school song, how to get your transcript, and more.
great online worship option for Sabbath mornings. Watch the second service live at wwuchurch.com complete with inspiring sermons by lead pastor Andreas Beccai and performances by student musicians.
Distinguished Faculty Lecture by Dave
Thomas who addressed what constitutes Christian faith and what makes believing in the Christian way both viable and credible. Find the recording at wallawalla.edu/DFL.
VIRTUAL VISITS Do you know someone who is interested in learning more about WWU? Tell them about our virtual visits and learn more at wallawalla.edu/visit. Visits can include a
guided virtual campus tour, online meetings
with professors and financial aid counselors, and more.
For a full calendar of events, visit wallawalla.edu/calendar. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
