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1948
Gustave Prinsell ’48—“Gus” to his friends, and “Doc” to five generations of patients he served in Allegany County—recently published his memoir, The Papa Bear.
The book–which tells the story God’s faithfulness to Gus and his family throughout a lifetime of serving Him–began as a series of conversations with Houghton College students between 2007 and 2009. Up to that point in their retirement, both Gus and Louise had stayed actively involved with Houghton College. “We loved the students,” Gus said. “We sat in the back of the chapel, and if any students would talk to us we would invite them to go out to lunch.” Over time they developed close friendships with the students and “they would ask us things about our marriage (now in our 72nd year)—or about my time in the service (WWII). So we would tell them how the Lord blessed us and helped us—and finally they said ‘Well, you oughta write this down.’ ”
It wasn’t until Gus’s 90th birthday in 2011 that he uncovered his 50+ year old typewriter and “typed the whole thing as it came to me—it was all up here.” His son, Jon Prinsell ’70, served as his editor, helping to shape Gus’s memories into a book that was ready for publishing.
The Papa Bear recounts diverse tales ranging from the Prinsell family’s long sea voyage to Sierra Leone aboard the MS Taurus, Louise protecting the family by shooting a 5-foot black mamba snake out of their mango tree with a 12 gauge shotgun and Gus’s 50 years of medical care in one of the poorest counties in New York State.
The Papa Bear is available on Amazon.com and Google Play.
1952
Shirley (Schruers) and George Cataldo recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Shirley remembers meeting George in the Gao dining room; George remembers noticing her from the start. The Cataldos married at 21 and eventually moved to Ontario, New York, where they both taught in the Wayne Central School System. Shirley and George have five children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
1958
Bob and Nancy Sabean officially retired from the United World Mission after 52 years of service in Costa Rica. The Sabeans are staying in Costa Rica, where Bob will still be on staff with Christian Camping International—Latin America and Nancy will continue to teach and provide counsel.
1961
Peter Lee was honored with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Human Growth Foundation at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Since entering semi-retirement, he continues to provide volunteer clinical care to children with endocrine disorders, including care for the Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and continues to travel and lecture extensively. He has been married to Karin (Landin ’61) Lee for 55 years and has two children and six grandchildren.
David Prull was recently re-elected as Justice for the Town of Canandaigua, a position he has held for the past 32 years.
1965
Mark Amstutz will be retiring in 2018 after 45 years of teaching at Wheaton College. He established the political science department and directed its growth and development over two decades. He also led nine overseas programs. His book Just Immigration: U.S. Policy in Christian Perspective was published in 2017. The fifth edition of International Ethics: Concepts, Theories and Cases in World Politics will be published in 2018.
1966
Ronald Fessenden published his sixth book, The Rise (and Fall) of the Secular Church (Equip Press, 2017). The book is available from Equip Press (Equippress.com) or Amazon.com.
1969
Nadine (Wirth) Scholl retired from her position as Music Director at Savior of All Lutheran Church, (LCMS) in Cartersville, Georgia. She recently relocated to be closer to her first grandchild, Everett Alexander Scholl, born March 19, 2017.
1970
Dave and Joanne Ryan celebrated 45 years of marriage this past summer with a ride across the country on a red tandem bike. Beginning in their hometown of Seattle, Washington, and trekking east to their destination of Ocean Grove, New Jersey, the Ryans covered 11 states, 3,200 miles, and 120,000 feet of climbing. Dave and Joanne used their trip to raise money for the women of Chepkorio, Kenya, through the organization Heavenly Treasures. Read more about their adventures at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/tandemtour2017.
Jeff Crawford published a book titled Bat Tongs and other Humorous Reflections on Pastoral Ministry in October 2017. The book contains 60 reflections covering 33-plus years of pastoral ministry. It highlights characters and experiences that made up the fabric of the four churches Jeff pastored as well as his time as a District Superintendent. The book is available through Amazon.com.
1972
Jeff Crawford published a book titled Bat Tongs and other Humorous Reflections on Pastoral Ministry in October 2017. The book contains 60 reflections covering 33-plus years of pastoral ministry. It highlights characters and experiences that made up the fabric of the four churches Jeff pastored as well as his time as a District Superintendent. The book is available through Amazon.com.
Paul De Ritter was recently invited to join the Amsterdam, Netherlands-based group the Biggles Bigband on their annual tour of Thailand. Paul is known to music fans in the Twin Tiers of Western New York as the leader of the Paul De Ritter Duo, Quartet and Quintet, where he performed on the trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet and pocket trumpet and did most of the lead singing. Before retiring to Florida, he taught elementary music Franklinville, New York, for 35 years.
1975
Bob Van Dyk, the president and chief executive officer of Van Dyk Health Care and past Board Chair of the National Center for Assisted Living, was given the 2017 Jan Thayer Pioneer Award at the 68th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo in Las Vegas. The award recognizes individuals deemed to have advanced the senior living profession, positively affecting the lives of those served and those who serve.
1979
Ruth (Campbell) Phinney was recently given the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) C. Stanley Potter Lifetime Achievement Award. Ruth is the program director for Reachout Radio, WXXI’s closed-circuit 24-hour reading radio service for people who are print handicapped, and for Classical 91.5, Rochester’s only all-classical music station.
1981
Kim and Shari Babcock are national leaders of King’s Castle Argentina, a ministry within the Union of Assemblies of God in Buenos Aries dedicated to reaching teenagers with the good news of Jesus Christ. The Babcocks have served in Argentina for fourteen years, following pastoring churches in the state of Michigan. Learn more at www.ksbabcock.com.
John DeValve successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the worship music in Songhai/Zarma churches of West Africa. He received his PhD from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in January 2018.
Eric Nelson was honored for 20 years as Director of Choral Studies at Emory University at the Emory Concert Choir’s fall concert in October 2017, which was dedicated entirely to him. Emory’s current concert choir was joined by alumni from the past 20 years who have sung under his direction to celebrate their beloved music professor and choral director.
1983
Walter W. Pickut was recognized as a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow at the Rotary Club of Jamestown in Jamestown, New York. Walt is currently a contributing editor for the Jamestown Gazette, a freelance writer in healthcare and an author.
1990
Michael Pollock was honored to work with his father’s co-author, Ruth Van Reken, to revise for the third time the seminal book on Third Culture Kids (TCKs) titled Growing Up Among Worlds: The Third Culture Experience. The late Rev. David C. Pollock ’62 was professor of intercultural studies at Houghton College. Michael continues to serve the globally mobile community through his directorship at Daraja (www.daraja.us) with retreats, training, coaching and Member Care audits while residing with his wife, Kristen (Zike ’91) Pollock, and their children in Michigan.
1992
Amy (Quick) Mahle is co-author and editor of the first edition of Adult Physical Conditions: Intervention Strategies for Occupational Therapy Assistants, a comprehensive, 1040-page college textbook. Amy writes, “Through years of teaching occupational therapy assistant students and identifying the need for a better textbook, I paired with colleague Amber L. Ward to author and edit this new resource. We also recruited 41 contributing authors throughout the U.S. to bring their expertise to the project.”
Scott McGeorge was recently elected Justice for the Town of Hume in Hume, New York. During the day, Scott continues to teach third grade at Fillmore Central School in Fillmore, New York.
1994
Tim DeTellis recently published his seventh book, Good Neighbors Make Great Neighborhoods. Learn more at HowsYourNeighbor.com. In addition to writing and speaking, Tim serves as president of New Missions, an organization dedicated to educating over 10,000 children from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida.
1995
Greg Bish, Director of Service Learning at Gordon College, defended his dissertation for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University, and his degree was conferred in October 2017. His dissertation was titled Civic Values and Christian Colleges: A Study of Student Involvement Effects.
Toby Williams was recently named Chief Financial Officer of Paylocity Holding Corporation, a cloud-based provider of payroll and human capital management software solutions. Previously, Toby served as Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Ellucian.
1998
Amy Trezise and Louis Colon were married on May 28, 2017, in Rochester, New York. Amy and Louis live in Rochester with their newborn baby (see future Highlanders).
Paul Watson II, dean of academic services and college transitions at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was recently honored as one of Pennsylvania Business Central’s top 100 people in business and economic development. Watson oversees the Penn College NOW dual enrollment initiative, which features partnerships with nearly 50 high schools and career and technology centers across Pennsylvania. Paul and his wife, Julie (Miller ’98), live in Williamsport with their two sons, Christopher and Paul III.
2001
Christy (Ware) Biscocho married Michael Biscocho on August 13, 2017, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Biscochos live in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, where Christy is a teacher trainer and mobilization coach for TeachBeyond.
Shawna (Lee) Coleing and her husband have recently taken over as senior pastors of Alive Community Church in Gordonvale, Australia. Shawna also published a book through Amazon titled Out of the Ordinary Devotions: A Parent’s Guide to Using Minecraft as a Devotional Tool on September 2, 2017.
2002
Sarah Tooley recently accepted a new position as Associate Director of Student Support at Mailman School of Public Health at the Columbia University Medical Center campus in New York City after serving as the Assistant Dean of Students/CARE Case Manager at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Sarah is now living in Manhattan and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple.
2003
Amy (Robinson) Patton and Steve Patton were married on October 7, 2017, in Riverside, California. The Pattons reside in Norwalk, California, where Amy is an administrative assistant at E&J Gallo Winery and Steve works as a valet for Laz Parking.
2007
Stacy (Garber) Bausch married Ryan Bausch on July 30, 2016, in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. The Bauschs make their home in Germantown, Maryland, where Stacy is a middle school teacher and Ryan owns a martial arts school.
Kyla (Quinn) Perry and Mitchell Perry were married on August 20, 2016, in Pultneyville, New York. The couple lives in Hector, New York, where Kyla is a 6–12-grade chorus teacher and Mitchell works as a landscaper and school bus driver.
2008
Stefan Zoller recently presented a solo exhibition of new paintings at Sla307 in New York City titled Bone Memory. The exhibition comprised black and white paintings rooted in a multi-generational meditation on absence and memory. The imagery used throughout the exhibition was extracted from a group of civil engineering diagrams drawn by his paternal grandfather in the mid-1940s. Stefan currently teaches drawing and design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.
2010
Kaitlan (Ferris) Barnum and James Barnum were married on April 22, 2017, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. In May 2017, Kaitlan completed two degrees from Evangelical Seminary: an M.Div. and an MA in religion with a world Christianity concentration. The Barnums live in Meyerstown, Pennsylvania, where Kaitlan is employed by Evangelical Seminary and James works at Berks Construction and Design.
Captain Zachary Wise was deployed to the Middle East this past November. His wife, Jenny (Huyett ’11), and their two-year-old son, Malachi, are praying for his safe return.
2012
Chelsea Ellis is an ENL teacher at the Lafayette International Community School in Buffalo, New York, where many of her students are resettled refugees. This summer, Chelsea had the opportunity to travel to Nepal to see where some of her students had lived and learned as Bhutanese refugees before resettling in the United States. She made the trip with fellow Houghton friend, Sondra Dawes ’11, who works as a senior case manager of a program for single, pregnant mothers at Jericho Road Community Health Center in Buffalo.
Erika (Harlow) Kamp married Ryan Kamp on August 5, 2017, in Holland, Michigan. The Kamps reside in Holland.
Sarah (Freeman) String married David String on October 21, 2017, in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. The Strings make their home in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, where Sarah works for Public Health Management Corporation, a non-profit public health institute, and David is a lawyer.
2013
Elizabeth (Martindale) Liddick MM ’15 and Nicholas Liddick ’15 were married on June 3, 2017, in Dallas, Pennsylvania. The Liddicks are both employed at Houghton College; Elizabeth is the graduate music program coordinator in the Greatbatch School of Music, and Nicholas is a groundskeeper with Sodexo. They make their home in Angelica, New York.
2014
Marissa (Meassick) and Jake Kocher ’13 were married on May 28, 2016, in Rochester, New York. The couple lives in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, where Marissa coaches field hockey and lacrosse at the local high school and is the marketing and social media coordinator for a private school and Jake is the sports director at the YMCA.
Ben Murphy was presented with the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in January 2018. Of the university’s entire graduate school teaching assistant pool, only five TAs were given the student-nominated Tanner Award of $5,000. Ben teaches in the English and Comparative Literature Department of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC.
Jayci Roek completed two years of music therapy equivalency coursework at University of the Pacific in California and then completed her internship in Boise, Idaho, where she worked in a pediatric hospital and in multiple pediatric outpatient clinics. In April 2017, she received her MT-BC credential and is now working as a certified music therapist in the Boise area. In addition, Jayci completed four half-marathons in 30 days for the non-profit organization Fiftytwo.Four to raise awareness about the immense need in India for orphans affected by HIV/AIDS.
2015
Lts. Heather (Hart) Purvis and Derrick Purvis were married on June 17, 2017, in Penn Yan, New York—six days after their graduation and commissioning from the Salvation Army College for Officer Training in Suffern, New York. The husband-and-wife pastoral team lives in Wellsville, New York, where they have been appointed administrators and pastors of the Wellsville Salvation Army.
2016
Jerbrel Bowens recently began a new positon at the Rochester City School District School of the Arts (SOTA), where he teaches Music Theory and Music 7 and is co-director of the jazz combo.
2017
Elizabeth Ibarra married Kevin Biondolillo on August 18, 2017, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Biondolillos make their home in Wheaton, Illinois, where Elizabeth is a school administrator at Jerry Evans School of Music and Kevin is a graduate student at Wheaton College.
Jennifer (Zacchigna) and Ryan Palmer were married on September 10, 2017, at the Avanti Mansion in Blasdell, New York. The Palmers live in McLean, Virginia.
Future Highlanders
1.5.17 | ADELIA RUTH
Andrea (Levack ’11) and Levi Rudd ’06
3.7.17 | LILLIAN CASANDRA
Sven and Jessica Johnson ’00
4.5.17 | LYDIA RUTH
Kayla (Saunders) and Michael Johnson ’09
5.30.17 | HANNAH CATHERINE
Bradley ’08 and Linnea (Landin ’07, MM ’12) Burr
6.17.17* | OLIVIA MIA GRACE
Mark and Danielle (Hull) Sabulsky ’95
*Olivia Mia Grace was born June 17, 2017 to her adoptive parents, Mark and Danielle
8.8.17 | EZRA JOHN
Jim and Isabel (Sanders ’13) Vitale
10.16.17 | EMILY
Jodi (Bossard) and David Newman ’97
2.14.18 | SAMUEL DAVID
Amy (Trezise ‘98) and Louis Colon
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