Old School
- Union alumna establishes scholarship honoring brother
- Arnold, Conger win local Man, Woman of the Year awards
- Myer enhances crisis response in Turkey
- Homecoming 2014
- Alumni News | Marriages | Births | Bullpups | Memoriam
Alumni News
40’s Forties
James “Jim” Franklin Eaves
(’49) and Dorothy Jeane
(Hillman) Eaves (’49) celebrated
their 70th wedding anniversary
on March 17, 2015. Jim is a former
member of Union’s Board of
Trustees.
70’s Seventies
Bobby Bragg
(’75) earned his
Ed.D. in
educational
leadership from
Dallas Baptist
University.
His dissertation study was on the
“functional motivation of the boomer
to volunteer through church.” Bobby
serves as the Boomer Generation
Pastor at Broadmoor Baptist Church
in Madison, Mississippi.
Joel Washburn (’79) is the
president of the Tennessee Press
Association. He also serves on the
Tennessee Press Association
Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Washburn is the general business
manager for his family’s two
community
newspapers,
The McKenzie
Banner and
Dresden
Enterprise.
80’s Eighties
Lawrence A. Ragland (’87)
serves as senior
pastor of
Watson Grove
Baptist Church
in New Albany,
Mississippi.
90’s Nineties
Jennifer Land Graham (’96, ’10, ’12, and ’14) graduated from Union University with her Ed.D. in July of 2014. She is the sixth grade math teacher and middle school community service coordinator at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. Jennifer lives with her husband, Andy, and stepson, Ray, in Franklin, Tennessee.
John Grant Swafford (’93) and his wife Jennifer adopted a daughter from China in September 2014. They have two biological sons. Grandmother is Doris Sue Hardee Swafford (’55) and aunt and uncle are Carol Swafford Church (’85) and Harvey Church (’85). The Swaffords life in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he is director of ministries for the radio and TV ministry of First Baptist Church.
Shawn Stutz (’98) published a book entitled I Have Ears: Learning to Hear from God about his journey of faith and learning to listen to God in the midst of life and community. The book is available for purchase at Amazon. Shawn, his wife Michelle and their two children live in Seymour, Tennessee, and Shawn is a teacher and worship leader at Aroma Church in Knoxville. More information about his writing and ministry is available at shawnstutz.com.
Dee Leggett (’98) works as senior
consultant with LTK Engineering
Services, a premier rail systems
engineering firm. Dee previously
served as chief operating officer for
the Denton County Transportation
Authority and its 21-mile commuter
rail line. Dee and her husband, Matt,
live in Highland Village, Texas, with
their 3-year-old son, Harrison.
00’s Two Thousands
Kathy O. Lofton (’00) is working
on a short film project entitled, “I am
a Caregiver.” This social advocacy
film will highlight the personal
stories and
challenges of
select caregivers
in Memphis,
Tennessee.
For more
information
about the project, visit kickstarter.com.
Becky Roode (’02) works with the Bridge Network of Churches, a network of over 90 churches serving southeastern Virginia with resources, training and support. For more information, visit norbaptist.com.
Ingrid Gindin (’03) completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry in June 2014. She now works as a psychiatrist in the state prison system in Pennsylvania.
Grant Taylor (’04) earned his Ph.D. in biblical theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in December 2014. He and his wife Rebecca welcomed Karah Mae to the family in July 2014. They reside in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where Grant teaches biblical studies at Southeastern and Rebecca works in the Office of Institutional Advancement.
Cam Armstrong (’05) is the
assistant dean for undergraduate
curriculum and
student affairs
for Baylor
University’s
Robbins College
of Health and
Human Science.
She graduated in May with a Ph.D. in
higher education from Azusa Pacific
University.
Sherri
Thomas (’05)
is the principal
of Lewis and
Clark Middle
School in
Jefferson City,
Missouri. She was selected as one of
six educators in the state of Missouri
for the “2014 Missouri Lottery and
St. Louis Cardinals “Stars of the
Classroom!” This program
celebrates excellence in education
by honoring outstanding
Missouri educators.
Melissa
Alexander
(’06) was
recently named
Principal and
Shareholder at
Cushman &
Wakefield | Commercial Advisors in
Memphis, Tenn.
Alvin D. Jeffrey (’07) published a book entitled Staff Educator’s Guide to Clinical Orientation: Onboarding Solutions for Nurses, published by Sigma Theta Tau International. The book is a practical guide to creating and sustaining high-quality orientation and on-boarding programs that meet the needs of nurses, organizations and patients.
Joe Carlen
(’07 and ’11) is
returning home
to Columbia,
Tennessee, to
work as director
of finance for his
family’s business, Williams Funeral
Home and Crematory.
Matt Stimmel (’09) began the
MBA program at The Kellogg School
of Management at Northwestern
University in fall 2014.
10’s Twenty Tens
Hannah Crossett (’12) serves as chaplain intern at Friendship Village Chesterfield. She is working to discover how to strengthen connections (rather than isolation) within the retirement community. She is working on a dual master’s degree in counseling and educational ministries at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
Marriages
Jonathan Yorkowitz (’05)
married long-time friend, Rachel Joy
(Klas)
Yorkowitz,
on June 21,
2014, in
Grand
Rapids,
Michigan. The couple lives in Fresno,
California, where Jonathan works as
the assistant director of residence
life, and Rachel works as the front
office manager for the registrar’s
office, both at Fresno Pacific
University.
Laura Spotts
Todd (’10)
married Kevin
Todd on
April 19, 2014.
Mary Alisa Techentin Duchek
(’11) married Matthew Duchek on
Aug. 9, 2014, in
Nashville,
Tennessee. After
their honeymoon
in the Greek
islands, the
happy couple
was blessed with a baby in May.
Jessica House Richmond (’11)
married Justin
Richmond on
Sept. 21, 2013.
Jessica is a
teacher at
South Pemiscot
High School in
Steele, Missouri.
Lori Morris Jacob (’12) married Brian Edward Jacob on Oct. 12, 2014.
Maggie Ledbetter Sandusky
(’12)
married
Ethan
Sandusky
on Sept. 26,
2014, in
Royse City, Texas. They met in
hermeneutics class at Southwestern
Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where
they are both pursuing Master of
Divinity degrees.
Births
Tim Hooker
(’93) and his
wife Gana
welcomed Josiah
Amgalan Hooker
on Dec. 10, 2014.
Josiah weighed
8 lb., 7 oz and was 20 in. long.
Fancher Sargent (’96) and Carrie Sargent, along with their son Jack, announced the birth of Elizabeth Kate Sargent on Jan. 27, 2014. She was 6 lb., 2 oz.
John Robus
(’03) and
Leslie Robus
(’04), along with
their 5-year-old
daughter Kelsey,
welcomed Ellie
Grace to their family on May 24, 2014.
She weighed 8 lb., 5 oz. and was 20
1/2 in. long. They live in
Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Bullpups
Annie Jane Preston was born Sept. 6, 2014, to Landon Preston (’07) and Stacy Preston (’05).
Josiah Amgalan Hooker was born Dec. 10, 2014, to Tim Hooker (’93) and Gana Hooker.
Lucy Marie was born on June 30, 2014. She is
the daughter of Shaun Powers (’02) and Beth
Sentell Powers (’05).
Caleb, born Jan. 1, 2012, and Ruby, born Sep. 11, 2013, are the children of Andrew Smith (’09) and
Calli (Hankins) Smith (’10).
Memoriam
Elven D. Hensley (’50)
passed away
May 16, 2014. He
was preceded in
death by his
wife Mary
Frances Hayes Hensley who passed
away April 5, 2014.
Joseph Albert Coughlin Jr. died Jan. 1, 2015, at age 76. He attended Union for one semester in the spring of 1956. His is survived by his wife, three children and four step-children.
Billy Frank Hammonds (’58) passed away Nov. 14, 2013, in Dothan, Alabama. He was 79 years old. He was ordained as a Baptist minister at age 22 and served in the ministry for 57 years, retiring from First Baptist Church in Trenton, Tennessee, in 2001. Survivors include his wife, Patricia Bowman Hammonds, two children and six grandchildren.
Billy Joe Weinstein (’62) passed
away Nov. 7, 2014, in Paducah,
Kentucky. He was 76 years old. He
received a bachelor’s degree
in music from
Union in 1962
and was a
member of the
Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia
Fraternity of
America. After two years of service
in the U.S. Army, he worked as a
high school music teacher,
salesman and agent. Mr. Weinstein
also loved farming and raising Black
Angus cattle. He will be
remembered for his love of “family,
music, and cows.” Mr. Winstein is
survived by his wife of 46 years,
Ann Harper-Simmons.
Janeen Googe Smith (’64, ’68)
passed away in June 2014 at age
71. A lifelong resident of Jackson,
Tennessee, she was a musician and
piano teacher who was active in the
musical community. She graduated
from Union with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1964 before completing
her Bachelor of Music degree in
1968. Survivors include her husband,
Ward H. Smith, two children and one
grandchild.