Fall/Winter 2018 Alumni News and Notes
1948
William and Ruth (Donley ’46) Barker celebrated their 70th anniversary on July 1, 2017, in Gainesville, Florida.
1956
Richard and Frances (Spink ’56) Filmer recently celebrated 50 years of music ministry at Community Wesleyan Church in Kirkville, New York. Richard and Frances met as music majors at Houghton, where their piano teacher, Professor Eldon Basney, put them together as a piano duo. Then, as a married couple in 1966, the Filmers played together (organ and piano) at Community Wesleyan Church to celebrate the opening of their brand-new sanctuary. They have been serving there ever since.
1961
William H. Griffith has co-authored a new book, 8 Questions Jesus Asked: Discipleship for Leaders, published by Judson Press, 2017. In the book, each chapter invites readers to hear Jesus’ question and examine it through the lens of their own experience. A preview of the book’s introductory chapter may be read at his website: wmgriffithbooks.com.
Richard Mouw has joined Religion News Service as a regular contributor. His column, “Civil Evangelicalism,” focuses on how evangelicals can model a gracious spirit in addressing important issues pertaining to the common good. Mouw is Professor of Faith and Public Life at Pasadena, California-based Fuller Theological Seminary, which he led for 20 years as president (1993-2013).
1964
Paul Engle is the author of two books published by Baker Books (May 2017): The Baker Wedding Handbook and The Baker Funeral Handbook. Dr. Engle served as a pastor for over 20 years and is currently a visiting professor in schools in Asia, Africa and North America.
1968
Linda (McCullogh) Moore published a new collection of stories, An Episode of Grace (Thornapple Books, 2017). Her last collection was heralded by author and Nobel Prize for Literature winner Alice Munro.
1976
Dale McElhinney published the first in a series of middle reader adventure mysteries for boys titled An Accidental Mystery at Camp Soaring Eagle in August 2016, and he is currently working on a companion series for girls. Dr. McElhinney remains active in his private psychology practice and lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Deborah, their four-pound poodle and a very noisy parrot.
1979
J. Daniel Bouw and his wife, Pat, recently moved to Manila, Philippines, where Dan is the Chief Financial Officer for International Care Ministries—a nondenominational ministry working with the ultra-poor in the Visayas and Mindanao. Dan writes that the ultra-poor are defined as those making less than US 50 cents per day per family member.
Joe Hupp was named a Fellow of the Materials Research Society in 2016 for “enabling discoveries in the syntheses of functional porous materials.” He was also recognized as “one of the world’s most highly cited researchers” in the fields of Chemistry and Materials Research, the former by Clarivate Analytics Institute for Scientific Information and the latter by Scopus, one of the world’s major providers of scientific, technical and medical information. Dr. Hupp is a core faculty member of the Department of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Jeff Spear was recently named Vice President for Finance (equivalent of CFO) at Southeastern University, in Lakeland, Florida. Jeff has held similar positions at Houghton and at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio.
1982
Two Houghton alums, Dexter Davis and Judy Fox ’89, were highlighted this past February on the United States Sports Academy website. The article featuring Dexter was titled Academy Alumnus and Faculty Member Shares Super Bowl Experience with Mentorship Student; Judy’s article was titled Fox Uses Academy Degree to Improve Lives Around the World through Sport. To access the articles, go to ussa.edu.
1984
Michelle (Lang) Dunlap recently jumped back into teaching full time in a fifth-grade gifted classroom after serving ESE students K-5 in inclusive classrooms as a resource teacher. Michelle has been teaching in Palm Beach County for 33 years and lives in Palm Springs, Florida, with her husband, Jim. The Dunlaps have four high school/college-age children.
1985
Eric Moyer received the 2017 American Chemical Society (ACA) Award for Team Innovation. Dr. Moyer and four other recipients were cited for participating on a Dow Chemical team in the 1990s that developed a high-performance polymeric material, benzocyclobutene, which enabled the microelectronics industry to miniaturize integrated circuit packaging. Eric is currently a senior technology manager at LORD Corporation, a diversified technology and manufacturing company.
1986
Kevin Clayton was recently promoted to Massachusetts Environmental Police Lieutenant in Boston Massachusetts. In this position, Kevin supervises the activities and enforcement efforts of all Environmental Police Officers in and around Boston’s Northshore. Kevin earned a Master in Public Administration degree from Suffolk University, Sawyer Business School in 2011.
Over the weekend of April 20, 2017, four Houghton friends from the class of 1986 and a sister/friend from the class of 1988 gathered in Ocean City, New Jersey, to celebrate 31 years of friendship. Pictured are Denise (Yourth ’86) Roswick, Beth (Orlemann ’86) Knecht, Gloria (Woodmansee ’86) Good, Naomi Woodmansee ’88 and Ellen (Durgala ’86) Si. The friends have been meeting once a year for 12 years.
1990
D. Todd Campbell was recently selected to serve as superintendent for Letchworth Central Schools in Gainesville, New York. Prior to this appointment, Todd had served since 2003 as principal of Wayland Elementary School in Wayland, New York. Serving at Letchworth is like coming home to Todd—he began his teaching career there in 1991.
1991
Charles “Kevin” Thompson released the second edition of his work of fiction, 30 Days Hath Revenge (A Blake Meyer Thriller—Book 1), in November 2016. Book 2 of the series, Triple Time, was released in March 2017, and book 3, The Tide of Times, is scheduled for an August 2017 release. In addition, the second edition of his BRMCWC Selah Award-winning novel, The Serpent’s Grasp, was released in May 2017.
1996
Mark Wentling completed the Certificate Program for Genealogical Research in December 2016 at Boston University. This 15-week program trains graduates in modern methods, standards and ethics for genealogical research. A professional genealogist for the past 20 years, Mark currently owns Ancestor Introductions, a genealogical research company that connects people with their unique ancestral stories.
1998
This past Christmas, long-time friends from the classes of ’98, ’99 and ’00 and their families—including 11 children—gathered in Virginia to reminisce about their time in Houghton. The event was also a send-off for Juan Toro ’98 as he and his family move to England. Pictured front (L to R): Ruth (Bulkeley ’98) Gilbert, Cara Nelson ‘98 and Jamie (Lee ’98) Kendle. Pictured back (L to R): Erik Young ’99, Brent Gilbert ’98, Juan Toro ’98 and Tad Sherman ’00.
2000
Thaddeus (Tad) Sherman was recently selected as principal of Rolesville Middle School—one of the largest middle schools in the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, North Carolina. Previously, Tad served for four years as an elementary school principal.
2001
Jessica (Rudl) Carlson recently transitioned to an instructional coach position at Garret Middle School in Garret, Indiana, after serving for 14 years as a public high school English teacher. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne, where she teaches undergraduate courses in theory and instruction. Jessica and her husband, Marcus, live in Auburn, Indiana, with their two children, Micah and Abby.
2004
Matt and Laurel (Hoffman ’05) Moran recently moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Amherst, New York, where Matt will be serving as pastor of Community of Grace—the same church he attended as a Houghton student. The Morans have three children, Zoe, Zeke and Josiah, and are expecting their fourth in August 2017.
2006
Houghton friends gathered over the New Year to celebrate 14 years of friendship that began in East Hall (now Gillette). Present were Allison (Taber ’06) Adams, Elizabeth Weaver ’06, Jenn (Johnson ’06) Erbelding, Melissa (Murray ’06) Davies and Laurel (Hoffman ’05) Moran.
2007
Laura Bosinski was hired by the Amherst Central School District in Amherst, New York, as their new School Business Administrator. Most recently, Laura was the business official, treasurer and district clerk for Holland Central School District in Holland, New York.
2010
Rachel Starks was accepted into an EdD program at Boston University for Fall 2017 and was awarded the highly competitive Glenn Fellowship, which includes a full-tuition scholarship and stipend. She will be working toward the Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Teaching with a sub-concentration in Mathematics.
2012
Erika Harlow earned a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Exegesis from Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, Canada, in December 2016. Her completed thesis is on the Phonology of Mosiye, and she was awarded the Governor General Gold Medal for highest GPA in her graduating class.
2013
Edward Linnecke received his law degree from William & Mary Law School in December 2016. Currently, he is a legal intern with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon, where he assists staff attorneys in researching legal issues involving the defense of civil rights. As part of his job, he has attended protests and rallies to inform protestors of their First and Fourth Amendment Rights and has helped immigrants and refugees who have been detained at local airports. Edward lives in Portland, Oregon.
2015
Lara Larsson earned a Master of Arts in Arts Administration in Music from Florida State University in May 2017. During her studies at Florida State, Lara worked with the Tallahassee Community Chorus, Arts Services Initiative of Western New York and the Hawai’i Performing Arts Festival. She currently lives in Troy, New York, where she serves as executive assistant to maestro José Daniel Flores-Carraballo of Albany Pro Musica as well as manager of educational programming for the organization.
Sylvia Morrow was named a 2017 Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A second-year student at Vanderbilt University, Sylvia is one of only 20 individuals nationwide selected for this 10-week opportunity. She also serves as a contributor for the leading science and technology publication, Discover magazine, where she makes scientific articles and studies more accessible to the general public.
Sarah Slater was recently promoted to Land Use Program Coordinator at Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After serving for a year as PCRG’s communications coordinator, Sarah now manages all of PCRG’s land use and revitalization programs. Over the last few months, Sarah has been able to help over 20 community groups in Pittsburgh gain access to vacant and abandoned properties.
Katherine Szwejbka received a Master of Arts in English and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Professional Writing on May 13, 2017, from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
2016
Jerbrel Bowens has been promoted to the Director of the Webster Indoor Percussion Ensemble for Webster Central Schools in Webster, New York. His new responsibilities include composing all of the music for the competition shows, hiring staff, teaching students, planning rehearsals and show day preparation, overseeing the budget information, and overseeing parent information.
2017
Joanna Friesen ’17, Judith Marklin ’17, Chaz Ormond ’16 and Friesen’s fiancé, Tim Schmell, recently travelled by bicycle from Seaside, Oregon to Ocean City, New Jersey, covering 3,477 miles of the United States in 61 days. They viewed 12 states along the way, riding anywhere between 40 and 120 miles per day as they made the eastward trip through heat, cold, sun and rain.
Then & Now
At a mere six years old, Racheal Gray ’17 knew she wanted to attend Houghton. When she came in May 2001 to see her aunt Sarah Gray ’01 graduate, she experienced a visit day like no other: an equestrian demonstration on the quad, interactions with Sarah’s friends, feeding the fish at Moss Lake, having her picture taken with evangelist Anne Graham Lotz (daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham) and more. Sarah and Racheal were even featured in the Summer 2001 edition of the college magazine.
Sixteen years later, at Commencement this past May, Racheal continued the Gray family’s Houghton legacy, graduating with majors in Bible and theology with a concentration in youth ministry.
Weddings
2003
Heather (Hodson) Jackowski married Scott Jackowski on April 30, 2017, in Buffalo, New York. The Jackowskis live in Lackawanna, New York, where Heather works as a trainer at Fidelis Care, and Scott is an HVAC technician at Danforth.
2010
Laura (Jackson) Rash married Philip Rash on December 30, 2016, in Durham, North Carolina. The Rashes make their home in Durham, where Laura is a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, and Philip is a math teacher.
2013
Hillery (Dunman) Dennies married Michael Dennies on October 8, 2016, in Elma, New York. The couple lives in Clarence, New York, where Hillery is a marketing assistant at Taverna Productions and Media, and Michael is an engineer at Integer.
Stephen Hill married Nora (Kahler ’13) on June 12, 2016, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The couple makes their home in East Amherst, New York.
Bethany (Stobbe) Vander Kaay and Bud Vander Kaay were married on October 16, 2016, in Davenport, Florida. The Vander Kaays live in Orlando, Florida, where Bethany works with Wycliffe Bible Translators, and Bud is a first-grade teacher.
2014
Katherine (Spaulding) Richards married Nathan Richards on August 6, 2016, in Ithaca, New York. The couple lives in Van-Etten, New York, where Katherine is a special education teacher at Spencer Van-Etten Middle School, and Nathan is a design engineer at Spider Holster.
2015
Emily (Mertzlufft) and Chase Rangel ’16 were married on August 14, 2016, in Buffalo, New York. The couple lives in West Seneca, New York, where Emily works as a retirement client service specialist at Lawley Service, Inc., and Chase is a substitute teacher and coach.
2016
Marcella (Wheeler) and James Hughes ’16 were married at Camp Ladore in Waymart, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 2017. Marcella and James live in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where they both serve as ministerial assistants for the Salvation Army.
Births
1996
Patricia Sayre and her husband, Joe Guevarez, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Sabrina Skye Dolan Guevarez, on February 15, 2016.
2007
Holly (Flint) and Tim White proudly announce the birth of twins, Lydia Jane Audrey and Charlie Gale Jonathan, on April 26, 2016. The duo joins brothers Levi (6) and Theo (4). The Whites make their home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
2009
Fiona Joy Eisbacher was born at home through the Midwives of New Jersey to Kelly (Hanson) and Frank Eisbacher on August 3, 2016. She joins sister Willow Christine (2). The Eisbachers live in Budd Lake, New Jersey.
2012
Sammy Jo (Marr) and Douglas Bogdan are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Beau Douglas, on November 11, 2016.
