Alumni News & Notes

1948
Bob Benninger, retired missionary and orthopedic surgeon, celebrated his 90^th birthday in January with two birthday parties with friends. He also received word from two different sources that he was listed as one of the top surgeons in the United States for 2008, the year he retired. Bob now lives in Wesleyan Village in Brooksville, Fla., with his wife, Barbara.

1964
Sharon Anderson recently graduated from the Advanced Publishing Course of the Institute of Children’s Literature. Sharon has had several nature articles for children published in Nature Friend Magazine, along with another article published in a regional magazine from western Colorado. Sharon lives in the central mountains of Arizona where she teaches piano and spends her spare time growing vegetables, flowers, and trees.

1966
Linda Lou Sully retired after a teaching career in a diverse range of settings including Christian and public schools, a prison, and a community college. At various times, she taught French, English, GED, and Biblical studies, primarily at the secondary level, including 20 years spent with students at risk of dropping out. She currently enjoys church activities, helping people, reading, nature photography, classical music, taking care of several acres of the family homestead, and cats.

1967
Ruth (Kleinschmidt) Kowles and her husband Joel are speakers in New York and Pennsylvania for Stonecroft Ministries (Christian Women’s Connections).  Ruth’s message is titled “Finding the Right Direction for my Life.” In it she speaks of coming to know Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord during her freshman year at Houghton. Her husband speaks about his Viet Nam experience.

1969
Richard Daake retired in May, 2012, after teaching chemistry for 36 years at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and he was awarded “Professor Emeritus” at OWU’s 2012 Commencement. He and his wife, Kathy (Barnett) Daake continue to live in Bartlesville, Okla.

Douglas Magin celebrated his 40^th year as associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Troy, Ohio, with his wife, Carol (Gares ‘65) Magin and the church congregation.

1980
Rev. Barb Schmitz completed an interim ministry in Maine and has started a new interim ministry at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cazenovia, N.Y.

Bob Tice was awarded Doctor of Ministry in May 2012 from Roberts Wesleyan College’s Northeastern Seminary. His dissertation is entitled “Envisioning and Implementing a Theology and Praxis of Unity-in-Diversity in a Core-City and Multicultural Church in the Context of Globalization and Glocalization.” Bob now serves as the senior pastor at RiverRock: An Assembly of the Nations in Buffalo, N.Y.

1983
Elaine Hannan was appointed elementary principal of Cumberland Christian School in Vineland, N.J. Elaine has taught at CCS for the past 29 years and has served in a variety of additional capacities, including director of admissions and director of Summer Safari, the school’s summer activity program.

1985
Cynthia Leavell is now the administrative assistant at North Presbyterian Church in Williamsville, N.Y.

1986
David Mee completed 25 years in the field of enrollment management. He currently serves as associate provost and dean of enrollment at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. His wife, Laura (Mercadante ’95) is a songwriter in Nashville, and her songs can be viewed at www.reverbnation.com/lauramee. The couple has two daughters, Jillian (13) and Olivia (9).

1987
Ned Farnsworth, his wife Marisol, and their four children moved to Ibarra, Ecuador, where Ned serves as the coordinator of Liebenzell Mission USA’s radio station and seminary. Prior to their relocation, the couple was blessed by the birth of their newest two additions to the family, twins Jacob Stephen and Elias Samuel, born on January 28, 2012. They joined siblings Joel Mark and Amelia Marie.

1988
Paul and Dawn (Dean) Cornell live in Beaver River, N.Y., with their four children, Elizabeth, Olivia, Abigail, and Jordan. Paul is a high school history teacher at Lowville Academy Central School, and Dawn is a high school math teacher at Carthage and Beaver River Central Schools.

Jim Logan became the president of non-profit Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where he directs operations, marketing, and fundraising. Jim lives in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

1989
John Bartz hosted a summer reunion of Houghton alumni and their families at New Beginnings Community Church in Palm City, Fla., where he serves as senior pastor. In attendance were Donna (Dean) Bartz, Dawn (Dean ’88) Cornell, Paul Cornell ‘88, and Denise (Dean ‘93) O’Loughlin. John and Donna Bartz live in Stuart, Fla., with their two children, Hannah and Josh. Donna is a third grade elementary teacher at Jupiter Christian School.


Jennifer (Deal) Becker and Princesse Nabintu ’12 travelled to Rwanda this past summer with a group from New Hope Free Methodist Church, Rochester, N.Y. The team worked at Kibogora Hospital, a rural facility located in southwest Rwanda on the shores of Lake Kivu. The team installed composting toilets, assisted with patient care and administration, and provided preaching and pastoral care for patients and hospital workers.

2000
Kristine (Hess) and Daniel Larison were married July 31, 2010, at Landis Valley Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, Pa. Laura (Hess ’03) Metzler, the bride’s sister, was the matron of honor, and bridesmaids included Heather (Conklin ‘00) Huth, Danielle (Teves ‘00) Hollenbach, and Rachel (Johnson ‘00) Graham. The couple resides in Chicago, where Kristine is a doctoral candidate in art history at the University of Chicago, after having received a master’s degree in art history from Penn State University. Her husband, Daniel, is the senior editor of The American Conservative magazine.
2001
Sara (Petteys) Buenaventura and her husband, Jason, were married on November 7, 2009, in Glens Falls, N.Y. Houghton alumni in attendance included Amanda (Miller ‘02) Koppenheffer, and Scott and Eunice (Thompson ’01) Bussom ’00.   On April 5, 2012, they were blessed with their first child, Luke David Buenaventura. The Buenaventura family resides in Cape May, N.J., where Sarah is at home full time, and Jason is a family physician.

Aaron and Alison (Roach) Harrington are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Tessa Corinne, on November 19, 2010. Aaron, Ali, and Tessa live in Fairport, N.Y. Aaron teaches physics at Newark High School, and Ali teaches French at Avon Middle and High Schools.

Several members of the Class of 2001 gathered at Homecoming 2011 for their 10^th reunion, accompanied by their children. Aaron and Alison (Roach) Harrington came with baby Tessa, Stephanie (Price) Martinez and her husband Alex with baby Gaby, and Marleen (Sider) Geiger and her husband David with baby Ephraim.

 

Jeremy Martin received his Ph.D. from the College of William and Mary on May 13, 2012, after earning distinction on his comprehensive examinations and completing his dissertation entitled “Tuition Discounting Through Unfunded Institutional Aid at Private Baccalaureate Colleges.” Jeremy is employed at the College of William and Mary as the assistant to the president and provost, where he works on strategic projects for the college. He lives with his wife, Tia, and his 2-year-old daughter, Gianna, in Williamsburg, Va.

 

Michelle (Taylor) McIlroy illustrated a bilingual children’s book titled Where is Paco Now? (Campanita Books, 2012) Michelle currently continues her work as a fifth grade teacher in Athens, N.Y., where she lives with her husband, Tom ’02 and their sons Caleb (6) and Collin (2).

Tad Sherman was appointed principal of Wakelon Elementary School in Zebulon, N.C. Tad resides in Wendell, N.C., with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, Benjamin (6) and Alexandria (3).

Julie (Hampson) Teitsma and her husband, Craig, announce the birth of their son, Jacob Craig Teitsma, on July 27, 2012. Jacob joins his sister, Madison (2). The family lives in Midland Park, N.J., where Julie works as a middle school music teacher and Craig as a self-employed carpenter.

 

2003
Jeremy and Erin (Spear ’04) Gorham are delighted to announce the birth of their third son, Owen Daniel Gorham, on November 26, 2011. Owen joins older brothers Ayden James (8) and Ethan Benaiah (4). The Gorham family lives in Wellsville, N.Y., where Jeremy serves as the pastor of Wellsville Alliance Church, and Erin is a stay-at-home mom who provides leadership for the church’s children’s ministry and instructs a “Run for God” 5K training group.

 

2004
Sarah (Moore) Gruver and Robert Gruver welcomed their first daughter, Olivia Katherine Grace, into their family on May 31, 2012. Sarah and Robert, parents also to 2-year-old Joshua, live with their children in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and they serve as paramedics at Erway Ambulance in Elmira, N.Y., while Sarah pursues her R.N. degree.

 

Walter Hopkins was appointed to the position of assistant director of language instruction at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. Walter will be supervising and coordinating Michigan State’s beginning and intermediate level Spanish courses as well as teaching three courses per academic year.
2005
Shelly (Bloser) Boyce and her husband, Shawn, welcomed the birth of their daughter, Emilia Grace, on June 22, 2012. The couple lives in Rochester, N.Y. where Shelly does corporate training for Travelers Insurance.

Andrea (McCullough) Owens and Christopher Owens were married May 5, 2012, in Roanoke, Va. The couple currently resides in Roanoke where, since her August 2011 graduation from the University of South Carolina with a Master of Speech Language Pathology, Andrea serves as a speech language pathologist with Carilion Clinic.






Deneé (Knoll) Rollins and her husband, Matt Rollins, announce the birth of their daughter, Taegan Laneé Rollins, on March 20, 2012. Matt and Daneé live in Norwood, N.Y., where Daneé is a fourth grade teacher and Matt is a commercial loan officer. Scan picture.

Austin Stevenson was appointed by Alaska Governor Sean Parnell to an at-large seat on the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. Utilizing the experience gleaned from serving as the Mat-Su Borough School District coordinator, as an education specialist with the Southeast Regional Resource center, and as an assistant curriculum director and social studies teacher, Austin will assist in strengthening and improving the social services and juvenile justice systems in Alaska.

2006
Allison (Taber) Adams, Jennifer (Johnson) Erbelding, Amy Haas ’07, Erica (Schrader) Murray, Melissa Murray, Kristen (Voorhees ’05) Sanasith, and Elizabeth Weaver gathered at Letchworth State Park this past summer to celebrate ten years of knowing each other since they were freshmen floor-mates on 1^st Old in East Hall (now Gillette).

2007
Susannah (Smith) Browne was married to Jim Browne on August 13, 2011, in New London, N.H. Bridesmaids included Katie Scrafford and Margaret Bell-Walker. Other Houghton alumni in attendance included Ben Walker, Stephanie (Smith) Lipnicki, Alex Lipnicki, Kathryn (Henderson) DeYoung, Jeffrey DeYoung, Shannon Callan, Kirstie Chen ’08, Jen Newgent ’09, and Holly Hrywnak ’09. The couple now lives in Portsmouth, N.H., where Susannah is employed by Lawrence Public Schools (Lawrence, Mass.).






Cassandra (Bertrand) Goldsmith was married to Joseph Goldsmith on July 16, 2011, in Lancaster, Pa. Nicole Hatler was a bridesmaid for the ceremony. The couple is now living in Forest Hill, Md., where Cassandra serves as a music teacher at Harford County Public Schools, and Joseph works at Modern Ministry Records.

 

2008
Thomas Lerew married Kerry Wallen on November 19, 2011, in Stewartstown, Pa. Matthew Teodori ’07 served as a groomsman at the wedding, which was also attended by Adam Potter ‘07 and Jenna Paoletti ’08.The couple now resides in Liverpool, N.Y., while Thomas pursues a Master of Music degree in choral conducting at Syracuse University.

 

2009
Emma (Hughes) Kowalinski was married to Russell Kowalinski on July 28, 2012, in Old Field, N.Y. In attendance were Jaclyn Snyder, Kaylee Bennett, Ed Raught ‘10, Laura (Albrecht) Miner, Mark Miner ‘07, Lauren Brooks, and Michelle Sprague. The couple now resides in Seattle, Wash., where Emma serves as a child and family therapist and Russell as a clinic director and physical therapist.

Luke Hands and Jessica Smith are pleased to announce their June 18, 2012, engagement. They will be married on January 3, 2013, in Dingle, Ireland.