Old School

• David and Diane Black aid Hendersonville campus
• David Clark wins poetry prize
• Support the Bulldogs in Style!
• From class honors to a unique flag-raising, Homecoming 2014 proved memorable.
• Alumni News | Marriages | Births | Bullpups | Memoriam

Alumni News

60’s Sixties

Bo O’Brien (’69) recently received awards from USTA Kentucky, a tennis association. Bo was named volunteer of the year and is chairman of the Elizabethtown Tennis Commission that received the Community Tennis Association of the Year Award.

Marvin and Katharine Dickerson (’69) returned home to Tennessee following their retirement from civil service with the U.S. Department of Defense with duty stations in Germany, South Carolina and Alaska.

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70’s Seventies

Sarah Lee Moore (’73) retired in June 2013 after 34 years as a coach and administrator in the athletic department at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She is currently working part time in admissions as the California Regional Admissions Counselor.

Ruth Page Woodall (’77) received the American Chemical Society’s “Helen Free Award for Public Outreach,” which is the society’s highest public service award. Woodall spent most of her career teaching high school chemistry, and currently serves as associate vice president of education and workforce development for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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80’s Eighties

Lynn Gibson (’83) recently became vice president of enrollment services at Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Miss. He and his wife, Paula, live in Selmer, Tenn. and have two sons, Eric and Mark. Lynn and Paula also have two grandchildren, Elijah and Sophie. Paula teaches fifth grade at Toone Elementary School and is completing her 30th year of teaching. Lynn is a former Union University staff member from 1987-1996.

Tammy Thompson Holland (’88) works at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as the agency’s manager of family, community and chaplaincy programs. She is a contributing author to the book You and Your Nonprofit and a conference speaker on topics related to volunteer administration.

Natalie Wade (’88) is publishing her first children’s book, Lily’s Feather Kite, which was released last fall.

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90’s Nineties

Bert Montgomery (’90) has written his third book, Going Back to New Orleans: Post-Katrina Re-connections and Recollections, which is now available from Nurturing Faith Publishing. The book is part oral history and part memoir. All author royalties go directly to the United Way of Southeast Louisiana. For more information, visit bertmontgomery.com.

Timothy Hooker (’93) recently moved from Incheon, South Korea, to begin working as the ESL program director at Campbellsville (Ky.) University. He and his wife, Gana, reside in Campbellsville.

Maris J. Weiner (’95) was included in the 2013 Pennsylvania Rising Stars — the top up-and-coming lawyers in the commonwealth. Weiner is an associate with the Philadelphia law firm Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP. She specializes in family law.

Ashley Tucker (’97) and her husband, Jimmy, recently moved from Buford, Ga., to Waianae, Hawaii, to work at the Pu’u Kahea Conference Center of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention.

Mandy White (’98) was recently promoted to senior vice president at The Jackson Chamber of Commerce in Jackson, Tenn. White joined the chamber staff in 1999.

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00’s Two Thousands

Justin Phillips (’00) graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., in June 2013 with a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics.

Kathy O. Lofton (’00) is the new program coordinator for the Healthy Shelby project at Healthy Memphis Common Table, a non-profit. Lofton previously worked for the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Community Trust and Tennessee Health Foundation. She received her MPA in 2007 from the City University of New York’s Baruch College of Public Affairs.

Stefanie Edwards (’00) serves as the marketing director of The Heart Gallery of Middle Tennessee, helping foster children find permanent homes. For additional information about the organization, visit heartgalleryoftn.com or email Edwards at thinkingstef@gmail.com.

Kelli White Deere (’00, ’02 and ’10) has served as the director of the University of Tennessee at Martin Parsons Center since May 2012. She graduated with her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Union in 2010.

Melody Maxwell (’01) has accepted a new position as an assistant professor of Christian Studies at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas.

Bethany Clark (’01) and her husband, Shawn, live in Andrews, N.C., and work for Snowbird Outfitters, a youth camp. They have four boys: Ty (7), Gabe (5), Luke (2) and Levi (2). Bethany said camp life is year-round these days, but her family is blessed to be a part of the gospel-centered camp. swoutfitters.com

Joshua H. Drake (’01) is associate professor of music and humanities at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Along with colleague Paul Munson, a former Union faculty member, Drake has written a book entitled Art and Music: a Student’s Guide. The book, published by Crossway, is part of the series Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition edited by former president David S. Dockery.

Chris Haak (’02) of Milan, Tenn. was promoted to lead events specialist in May 2013 after passing the Food Safety Certification exam. He has worked with Crossmark for more than a year.

Jeremy Stephan (’03) graduated from St. Louis University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate on May 16, 2013. His degree focuses were in business transactions and taxation. He and his wife, Melissa, live in St. Charles, Mo.

Shawn Allred (’05) is currently serving as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Bruceton, Tenn. Since graduating from Union, he has earned his Masters of Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Shannon Kish (’05) received her MSW from Alabama A&M University on May 3, 2013. She began working as a therapist and forensic interviewer for the Morgan County Child Advocacy Center on May 1, 2013.

Joe Carlen (’07) has accepted a position as a compliance officer in Pasadena, Texas. He is in charge of identifying and overseeing the compliance of federal regulations and accounting on various grants awarded to the city. He also will be responsible for the accounting and reporting of financial resources that are restricted, committed or assigned to expenditures for capital improvement projects.

Renee Emerson (’08) has written her first book of poems, Keeping Me Still, which was published in March 2014.

Alex Scarbrough (’09) has joined the law firm of Thompson Burton, PLLC in Franklin, Tenn. to lead the firm’s administrative law practice. She also will be assisting in the firm’s existing litigation and employment law practice groups. Alex lives in Nashville.

Marriages

Carol (Morris) Weaver (’85) and John R. Weaver II were married on August 31, 2013, in West Lafayette, Ind.

Todd DeLaney (’99) married Heather Melendez DeLaney on October 12, 2013.

Bethany Thrower Williams (’99) married Daniel P. Williams March 2, 2013. They met at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago where they are both active in the music ministry.

Robert Clifford (’05) and Jennifer Clifford, Esqs. were married Nov. 11, 2012, at The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station in Haddam, Conn. Both will practice corporate law in Boston.

Laurie Kay Henry (’08) and David Franklin Montgomery were married Nov. 3, 2012, in Nashville at Cross Point Church. Their reception was at the historic Union Station. They met at work, Palm International, Inc., where David is the shipping coordinator and Laurie is the graphic designer. Laurie also is the owner and designer of Fanciful Ink, an event and stationary design company.

Mary Alisa Techentin (’11) is to be married to Matthew Duchek of Crystal Lake, Ill. Matthew is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Mary Alisa works as a teacher in Boulder and Matthew is an aerospace engineer in Denver. A summer wedding is anticipated.

Brittany Johnson Campbell (’12) married Wayne Campbell (’05) on March 16, 2013.

Brandi Stewart Callery (’13) and Robert Callery (’12) were married July 27, 2013, at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. They reside in Jackson, where they both work as nurses at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. Robert is continuing his education at Union University. He is pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing in the Family Nurse Practitioner track that he will complete in December 2014.

David Leisey (’13) and Holly AJ Leisey (’13) were married June 22, 2013, in Denver, Colo. They now reside in Jackson, Tenn. David is teaching first grade in the Jackson-Madison County School System, and Holly is working at Union in the Department of Sociology and Family Studies.

Beth Byrd Knoll (’13) and Nicholas Knoll were married Oct. 12, 2013, at Salem A.R. Presbyterian Church in Atoka, Tenn.

Births

Ashley Parker Tucker (’97) and Jimmy Tucker welcomed George Preston Tucker on April 30, 2013, at 6:22 p.m. He weighed 7 lb., 6 oz. and was 21 1/4 in. long.

Amy Hammons Strawn (’98) and her husband, Dudley, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Dudley Turner Strawn, IV (Turner), born Aug. 9, 2012. Turner weighed 7 lb., 6 oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long. Amy and Dudley are so thankful to God for the baby boy He has entrusted to them. Amy, Dudley and Turner reside in Grapevine, Texas.

Jeff Shands (’99) and his wife, Sarah, proudly welcomed their third child, Callie Grace, born on March 5, 2013. Callie has two older siblings: Preston (8) and Emily (5). Jeff is a teacher and coach at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss., and Sarah is employed by AICOMP Consulting in Memphis. They reside in Southaven.

Beth (Hill) Marks (’01) and Logan Marks are proud to announce the arrival of their first child, Sarah Elizabeth Marks, on May 13, 2013. She weighed 8 lb., 4 oz. and was 20 in. long.

Stephen Wilson (’03 and ’11) and Megan Fuller Wilson (’04 and ’10) announced the birth of Olivia Joy Wilson, born June 27, 2012. She weighed 7 lb., 5 oz. and was 21 in. long.

Andrea Smith (’04), Harold Smith and their two sons William (6) and John (3) welcomed twins into their family, Thomas and Peter, on Aug. 24, 2012. Harold is a systems engineer in Nashville for Education Networks of America, and Andrea is a homemaker. They live in Dickson, Tenn. andreasmith81@gmail.com

Jonathon and Lindsay McDonald (’05) announce the birth of their second child, Marleigh Elisabeth, born on Aug. 29, 2013. They currently reside in southern Illinois, where Jon serves as a pastor.

Katelin Warren Lasater (’07) and her husband, Michael, welcome the birth of their first child, Henry Eugene Lasater, born Nov. 2, 2013. He weighed 8 lb., 2 oz. and was 20 inches long.

Bullpups

Memoriam

W. David Cooper (’42) passed away on May 31, 2013, in Bolivar, Tenn. He was 91 years old. The longtime Bolivar minister also was a retired captain from the U.S. Navy, where served for 29 years. Union conferred a bachelor’s degree to Rev. Cooper in 1942, the university’s education service award in 2000 and an honorary doctorate in 2001. “David Cooper is one of the most kind, caring, gentle and good men that I have ever had the privilege of knowing,” said David S. Dockery, who helped officiate at Rev. Cooper’s funeral service. Rev. Cooper is survived by a son, Thomas Cooper, a granddaughter, two brothers and two sisters. The Cooper family contributed to the building of Bowld Commons on the Jackson campus, where a room is named in their honor. The family has requested that gifts to Union in memory of David Cooper be designated for the David Cooper Legacy Fund, established in 2008 by Thomas Cooper to honor his father.

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Heather Olford passed away Dec. 21, 2013, in Memphis. She was 89 years old. She and her late husband Stephen founded the Olford Center for Biblical Preaching in 1988, and the center became part of Union University in 2007. Mrs. Olford served on the Union University Foundation Board and continued the legacy of her husband, who had a profound influence on Billy Graham and other evangelical preachers of his time. David S. Dockery said, “Heather Olford was a faithful and winsome ambassador for Christ around the globe. In recent years, she similarly became a loyal supporter of the work of Union University. While she will be greatly missed by many, we give thanks to God for her life and ministry.” Mrs. Olford was a member of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova. Family members request that gifts in her memory be directed to the Stephen Olford Center, 4000 Riverdale Road, Memphis, TN, 38115, where they will be used to train preachers and teachers of the Word of God.

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William (Will) Lee Gray (’02) passed away on July 26, 2013 in Mesa, Ariz. He was 33 years old. Mr. Gray was recruited to play basketball at Union, and he attended the University on an athletic scholarship. He was also a talented musician and vocalist, and founded the band Scratch Track while a Union student. The band toured nationwide for two years. In 2007, he released his initial solo album entitled Introducing Will Gray. He also directed a documentary entitled Broke* that received the Special Jury Prize for Most Original Vision at the Nashville Film Festival. Gray signed with Warner-Chappell Music in 2011, and his original songs have been recorded and performed by top artists such as Blake Shelton. Mr. Gray released an EP entitled The Renegade with Reva Williams in 2012. He had returned to Union a number of times for performances, most recently a concert in Barefoots Joe in 2011. He received a cancer diagnosis in October 2012 and underwent surgery the following month. Mr. Gray wrote this on his blog shortly after the surgery: “My exact recovery time after surgery is unknown, but expected to be a gradual process. Yet, each day, I will fight. I will LIVE and pray in thankfulness for continued grace and mercy.” He is survived by his wife Angie (’03), whom he met while a student at Union, his parents, Johnny and Barbara Gray of Paris, Tenn., two brothers and a sister. The family asks that contributions be sent to help defray medical expenses. Online contributions can be made at goteamgray.com.

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John G. Dickinson (’48) passed away Dec. 9, 2013, in Jackson. He was 87 years old. Mr. Dickinson served as a Union University trustee and funded a scholarship at the University in honor of his late parents. He is preceded in death by Virginia (’49), his wife of 64 years. They met as Union freshmen and went on to serve churches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Louisiana through the ministries of education and music. In a 2004 Unionite story, Mr. Dickinson was quoted recalling his childhood during the Great Depression in rural Madison County and the subsequent years as a student at Union when money was scarce. He expressed gratitude for help from donors whom he had never met: “We feel like somebody was responsible for [Virginia and me] being at Union. I want to be a little bit a part of somebody else’s experience.”

Virginia Dickinson (’49) passed away Oct. 27, 2013. She was 86 years old. Mrs. Dickinson was an active member of Woodland Baptist Church in Brownsville, Tenn., where she had key roles in the Women’s Missionary Union and the choir. Mrs. Dickinson was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority while a student at Union and went on to a teaching career in which she specialized in helping students with learning disabilities. She was also active as a volunteer worker at Union, alongside her husband John.

Marvin Fitts (’53) passed away Dec. 20, 2013, in Cordova. He was 87 years old. He and his wife Jean (’49) served for many years as Southern Baptist missionaries in Costa Rica, Peru and Mexico. The couple retired to Bartlett in 1990 but continued to minister at both Ellendale Baptist Church and La Buena Esperanza (The Good Hope) Hispanic Baptist Church. The couple donated about 100 pre-Columbian pottery artifacts Memoriam Memoriam to Union University’s Summar Library in 2010. They had collected the pieces during their time in Peru. The display features archeological finds from about 300 BC to 1534 AD. Mr. Fitts is survived by his wife Jean, two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.

Bert “Junior” Daugherty (’55) passed away on July 26, 2013, in Lewisville, N.C. He was 78. Mr. Daugherty came to Union University to play basketball and was named Most Valuable Player during his time on the team. He was active in church life, serving at various times as a Sunday school teacher, trustee and deacon. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sylvia, and two daughters.

Don Holifield (’60) passed away on August 2, 2012, in Knoxville. He was 75 years old. Originally from Three Way, Mr. Holifield majored in mathematics at Union and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He served as director of economic development and general manager of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce. In 2000, he retired after 20 years as secretary-manager of the Tennessee Valley Fair. He is survived by his wife Janis, two children and three grandchildren.

John Dale Enoch (’64) died March 23, 2013, in Conway, Ark., of congestive heart failure that was complicated by prostate cancer. While at Union, Mr. Enoch was editor of the Cardinal & Cream and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He is survived by Joan, his wife of 46 years, and other family members. Enoch had an extensive career with the Commercial Appeal and as executive director of the Arkansas One-Call System.

Carey Maurice “Johnny” Johnson (’81) passed away Nov. 16, 2013. He was 54. Mr. Johnson graduated from Bolivar High School, Union University and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Johnson was serving as interim pastor at Beech Bluff Baptist Church in Beech Bluff, Tenn. Johnson is survived by his wife, Tina Graves Johnson (’82), as well as two daughters, Hillary and Brittney.

Johnnie Floriene Williams Byrd passed away Dec. 22, 2013, in Nashville. She was 88 years old. Mrs. Byrd was kindergarten director at West Jackson Baptist Church, where her late husband Daniel Q. Byrd, Jr. was pastor. Mr. Byrd was an emeritus trustee at Union. The David Q. and Floriene W. Byrd Memorial Scholarship was established to help students planning to enter the ministry. Family members ask that gifts in Mrs. Byrd’s memory be directed to that fund in care of Union University.

Pete Wilson passed away Jan. 24, 2014, in Jackson. He was 94 years old. Mr. Wilson was a Union University trustee and founded Machine Tool and Supply Corp. in Jackson. He was an active member of West Jackson Baptist Church for more than 70 years. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Family members ask that memorial gifts be sent to West Jackson Baptist Church building fund or Union University.