40s
Albert Frank ’40 and his wife Eveline make their home in Auburn, Calif. Since retirement, their volunteer service has included eye examinations and used eye- glass distribution in both Tanzania and Thailand. They have also traveled to the Middle East, South America, and central Europe.

Esther (Logan) Pursley ’40 resides with her husband George in Bristol, Va. They are both retired, but remain active in their local church as Sabbath School teachers. George also serves as an elder. The couple has a son, Richard, in Kenya, and a daughter, Evelyn Kopitzke, in Tanzania, as well as three grandchildren.

Luke Bunch ’50 and ’68 and his wife Esther (Brooks) ’65 reside in Knoxville, Tenn., where they are both retired teachers. Luke’s fondest memory of WWC is “the Christian atmosphere—unity between the staff and students.” He also appreciated Dr. Westermeyer and Elder Alcock for “their dedicated Christian life and their unhurried willingness to be of assistance at any time.”

50s
Edna Maye (Alexander) Loveless ’50 and her husband Bill ’49 live in Highland, Calif. Edna Maye is chair of the English-Communication Department at La Sierra University. Bill teaches graduate religion class at La Sierra and also is a consultant to the School of Dentistry at Loma Linda University. Bill also has a private practice in marriage and family counseling. He recently served as the senior pastor at the Loma Linda University Church. The couple has two children, Marti Loveless-Olson att., and Marilynn Loveless att., an instructor in communications at WWC.

William Moreno ’50 resides with his wife Marjorie in Salem, Ore. He is a physician and surgeon and self-described rockhound. He also collects antique medical books. William remembers Luella Kretschmar, saying, “Her kindness, patience, understanding, and teaching skills have had a lasting effect on me.”

Zane Price ’50 and his wife Maxine live in Los Angeles, Calif. He is a retired cell biologist with the UCLA Medical School. He has been a teacher of adult Sabbath School for many years and also wrote the book “Atom to Adam.” He has served in numerous positions with the UCLA Medical School, including chief of the division of microbiologic cytology, director of the Nina Anderton Laboratory for Electron Microscopy, and as director of the Electron Microscope Facility.

C. Gordan Hale ’55 lives in Seattle, where he is a cardiologist with The Polyclinic, a physician multispecialty group. He is medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Heart Disease Prevention at Providence Seattle Medical Center and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington. In February, Gordon participated in the seventh World Congress of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention held in Manila, Philippines. He presented a paper and chaired a session on congestive heart failure.

60s
Gary Case att. and his wife Kathy (Boldman) att., make their home in Clackamas, Ore. Gary is president and CEO of a large third-party administration company, Associated Administrators. He and Kathy are proudly watching their grandchildren grow.

Joyce (Harchenko) Klocko ’60 and ’64 lives in Payette, Idaho, where she maintains a small acreage that includes a garden, orchard, pasture, and field. Her husband Roy ’60 passed away in 1994. Joyce remembers Dr. H.G. Staehr and writes, “Because he showed interest in us, we were able to get jobs at the college farm and were able to complete our college education as a result!”

Wellington Mathison ’60 lives with his wife of 41 years, Frances (Welch) ’58 in Jamestown, Calif. Wellington is a retired educator with the Adventist system, and Frances is a retired health educator. The couple is active in their church. Wellington enjoys woodworking and auto mechanics as well as helping the needy.

Lowell Nelson ’60 is living with his wife Arladell (Bond) fac. in Cool, Calif., where they are both retired. They met at WWC where Lowell took voice lessons from Arladell. During their tenure at Monterey Bay Academy, Arladell’s choir, The Ocean-aires, was the only high school choir in the United States invited to sing in the Easter Chorale Spectacular in Sydney, Australia. Lowell currently teaches college anatomy and physiology at the Weimar Institute, while Arladell directs the church choir at the Auburn SDA church.

Perry Parks ’60 and his wife Gloria make their home in Bozeman, Mont., where he is president of the Montana Conference, and she is involved in team and women’s ministry. Perry writes, “It was at WWC I found myself, Jesus, and my life work. A positive and life-saving experience for me.”

 

Darilee (Allen) Sakala ’69 Two years after Darilee (Allen) Sakala ’69 married Elmar ’65 and ’68, the couple moved to Loma Linda, where Elmar attended the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University (LLU). During that time, Darilee became closely acquainted with the stress that long hours of work and study place on young marriages. She now relies on her experience to help young couples through the hard years of medical school. In recognition of her volunteer efforts, Darilee has been named “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s National Auxiliary of the School of Medicine, LLU. She received this award for her “outstanding assistance given over a period of many years to wives of medical students attending Loma Linda University.” She served on the board of the auxiliary for nearly 10 years while concentrating on the mentoring of medical student spouses. “I encourage the families, and especially the spouses, through the difficult years of medical training. I understand what they are going through,” says Darilee. Support services include opening her home to hundreds of families through the years. She plans dinners, vespers, and other programs intended to help spouses find friends and form support groups. Darilee emphasizes a balanced approach to life by counseling students and spouses to take time for God, their family, and themselves. Countless physician husbands and wives across the United States and around the world now look to her as a friend and counselor. Darilee has taken a little more time for herself this year, as both of her children, Michelle, a teacher in the Colton school district, and Chad, a master of business administration student at the University of California Riverside, were married during the summer. She plans to remain active in the Calimesa SDA church, where she has been a leader in the Women’s Bible Study Fellowship and is also interested in short-term mission work with her husband. “Traveling with my husband on mission projects has been a real joy. Learning about other cultures and to experience them just opens new horizons,” says Darilee.

Shirley (Brane) Thomas ’60 makes her home in Tillamook, Ore., with her husband Griffith ’57, a self-employed doctor. She works at Tillamook County General Hospital. The couple has six children and 13 grandchildren, one of whom is no longer living.

Beverly (Baker) Thygeson ’60 resides in Walla Walla with her husband Scott ’62. She is director of health services with the Walla Walla School District. Beverly writes, “I loved my teachers. They all seemed genuine and committed to our becoming successful.” She enjoys her pets, gardening, and traveling.

Velma Vipond ’60 is retired and makes her home in Cranston, R.I. Though she is retired, she still volunteers at her local church two days a week. She remembers Elder Alcott because “he never forgot my name and could call it up whenever we met. I also appreciated all the texts we memorized.”

Burton Briggs ’61 and his wife Carolyn (Hayden) ’59 live in Cherry Valley, Calif. He is professor of anesthesiology at Loma Linda Medical School and medical director of the operating rooms at Loma Linda Medical Center. Burton has many memories of life at WWC, including “staying up late at night with some of the Canadian fellows, spraying water into the air over the tennis courtŠ We could then ice skate and play hockey for the next two weeks if the temperature would stay below freezing.”

70s
Rae (Depner) Boggs ’70 resides in Colville, Wash., where she works as a massage therapist. Rae writes, “I’m a nurse, and I loved Christmas Eves when all the nursing students in the Portland dorm walked through the darkened halls of the hospital with lighted candles, singing Christmas carols.” In 1994, Rae was diagnosed with cancer. She remodeled her home into a bed and breakfast during her treatment and recuperation time.

Steve Dickerson ’70 and his wife Barbie (Aitchison) att., make their home in College Place. Steve works for Coffey Communications doing prepress, information services, and special projects. Barbie home-schools one of their two children.

Frances (Bruce) Dixon ’70 lives in Portland, Ore., with her husband James ’61. Frances teaches special education half-time at Hood View Junior Academy, and James is a retired physical education teacher. Frances is active in her church and president of The Christian Scribes, a Portland-based Christian writers organization. She traveled to Vienna as a delegate for the General Conference, fished five summers in Alaska, and has gone on a European history trip with WWC.

Keith Ellstrom ’70 and his wife Janice reside in Pinehurst, N.C., where they are both anesthetists. Keith remembers WWC’s “quiet, beautiful campus ... stimulating discussions ... and great inspirational music.” The couple has three children.

Martha (Lowry) Germany ’70 and her husband Larry ’66 make their home in Donna, Texas. Martha helps with Larry’s business of selling, installing, and servicing water softeners and reverse osmosis machines. Larry recently started a second business to help people get out of debt. Martha also sells websites from a branch of that company.

Randy Kandt ’70 and his wife Marty (McCreery) ’70 sold their grain farm after 27 years and moved to Wanham, Alberta, Canada. Randy says he “enjoyed the watermelon feeds and ski trips to Spout Springs and Anthony Lakes. I really value the many friendships I made while there.” He especially appreciated Larry Lewis, “A very open-minded teacher. He challenged us to think for ourselves.” Marty’s favorite was Mrs. Medlock, who was a “very kind, understanding, and sensitive person, who had the ability to motivate.”

Peter Hardy ’75 and his wife Elizabeth (Craik) att. reside in Yreka, Calif. He is a principal and teacher at the SDA school there, and his wife is a nurse. Peter has gone on about 10 Maranatha trips to Mexico with students from Upper Columbia Academy and enjoys windsurfing in the Columbia Gorge at Hood River. There are many things he remembers about life at WWC, including “dirt biking in the Blues, snowskiing, studying Greek with Mrs. Knapp, and quiet time during Friday night vespers.”

80s
Cheryl Hickethier ’80 lives in Boring, Ore., where she practices family medicine with Adventist Health in Clackamas. She fondly remembers Conard Hall fire alarm excursions, as well as Stacy Nelson, because “he wasn’t afraid to talk about Christ in his classes.” Cheryl’s training has allowed her to travel around the world, and she also keeps busy parenting her two teenage nephews, singing with Tigard Pops Choir, and playing piano and organ in church.

Vanessa (Ellis) Jensen ’80 and her husband Roy ’78 live in Bothell, Wash., where she is an art teacher, and he is a hydrogeologist at Roy F. Weston, Inc., in Seattle. Vanessa has many good memories of WWC, including “pink lemonade popsicles at the College Dairy and the College Church organ rumbling the seats.” She appreciated Orpha Osborne because, “She taught me by example how to work and what a job is all about. She was honest yet kind and had a wonderful sense of humor.”

Jennifer (Smith) Dill att., and her husband David are church planting in Chiang Rai, Thailand. They live among the Mien people of northern Thailand with their daughters, Jessica and Juliana.

Jan (Olson) Hendrickson ’82 and her husband Stan are church planting in Vlore, Albania. They live among the Tosk people with their children Karista, Kristofer, and Kyrsten.

Matthew Underwood att., lives with his wife Lynda in Yucaipa, Calif. He finished his emergency medicine residency in June. He also received the highest score in the nation on his annual inservice examination, given by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He currently works for the emergency medicine departments of Riverside Community and Riverside County Hospitals.

90s
Michael Devitt ’90 lives with his wife Angie St. Clair ’89 in Boise, Idaho. Michael is a self-employed physical therapist, and Angie is a family physician. Michael remembers such things at WWC as “spending time with friends, skiing at Bluewood, and sleeping in on weekends.”

Lisa (Case) Stiles ’97 and her husband Peter att., (pictured above), reside in Bend, Ore., where Peter is a flight instructor at the Bend Airport, and Lisa is an interior designer for a custom home building firm. The couple had their first child in September.

Jolene (Boyatt) Roeske ’90 and her husband Reiner live in Redlands, Calif., where she is a stay-at-home mom. She remembers editing the Collegian at 3 a.m. the night before deadlines, and also Verlie Ward’s dedication to teaching, saying, “She instilled in me a passion for loving kids.” Jolene received an M.A. in English and has led two art tours to Europe for junior high students. The couple has one daughter.

 

Rhona Kwiram ’91 recently became a shareholder at Clark Nuber, an accounting firm in Bellevue, Wash. Rhona is a certified public accountant and leading member of Entrepreneurial Services Group, the firm’s accounting and auditing practice. Rhona advises a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations, and her deep understanding of their accounting and business issues, coupled with her exceptional service ethic, make her a valued member of their team. She also speaks frequently at events for non-profit organizations and members of the accounting industry. She began working at Clark Nuber after graduating from Walla Walla College summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in business administration degree. The firm rewarded Rhona’s dedication to work by making her partner sooner than any other previous employee. She is also the firm’s first woman partner. Rhona began her career by working in all areas of accounting “to get a taste of what specialization in each field might feel like.” She eventually chose not-for-profit accounting. “The type of people that work at not-for-profit institutions focus on mission, not just the bottom line. The end result of these companies is that they benefit someone’s need, not someone’s pocket,” she says. In addition to other positions, Rhona has served as past director of the Seattle Choral Company and on the Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee for the Seattle Opera. In her free time, she enjoys attending musical events in the Seattle area, decorating her house, reading, and traveling. She is also active in the Green Lake SDA Church, where she serves on the Finance Committee.

Cheryl (Kronner) Wiley ’90 and ’94, serves as a missionary with her husband Craig and two children. She remembers “sitting in the communications classroom watching a Friday night sunset with several friends who broke into ‘Day is dying in the West,’ and Dr. Dickinson took his cue and recited his Friday evening sunset radio spot.” She also greatly appreciated Scott Ligman, Jim Nestler, Gordon Johnson, and Barbara Bigger.

Previous issues
Spring 2000
Winter 2000
Spring 1999

Home