Alumnotes [ 50s | 60s | 70s | 80s | 90s ]

1950s Top
June (Brooks) Dorner ’54 and her husband, Roger ’55, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 12. They live in Wenatchee, Wash., and have worked as building contractors, salespeople, and gold miners. They also have been owners of a lumberyard, an excavating business, and an apartment complex. June’s hobbies include photography, knitting, bird watching, piano, and “keeping Roger in line.” June and Roger have two children and seven grandchildren. EMAIL

Ralph H. Jones ’54 lives in Milton-Freewater, Ore., with his wife, Viola (Kendall) att. Ralph and Viola were married two weeks after his graduation. Ralph is a retired Seventh-day Adventist teacher and minister, and he has worked in Oregon, India, and Singapore. Ralph has enjoyed traveling, baptizing children in India, and living in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Joneses have three sons, Randall att., Wesley ’82, and Kent ’87. EMAIL

Nadine (Koehler) Hale ’54 makes her home in Seattle, Wash. Until a few years ago, Nadine was an active church musician, playing the pipe organ and serving as an officer in the Seattle chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Her memories of wwc are musical as well, including the choirs and organ. Nadine has two children, Susan and Steven.

Max Qualley ’54 lives in Walla Walla with his wife, Barbara. Max is a retired academy music teacher and enjoys golf, woodworking, and directing a trombone ensemble at the College Place Village Church. His favorite memories of wwc are of singing in choirs. The Qualleys have three children, Duane, Ron ’75, and Sonja att., and three grandchildren.

Clinton Shankel ’54 and his wife, Mable (Bruington) att., make their home in Placerville, Calif., where Clinton is a retired church administrator and pastor. Though retired, the Shankels remain active in their local church, teaching Sabbath School, chairing committees, and sitting on the church board. “We keep busy enough,” says Clinton. Clinton and Mable have two children, Lynette and Dennis, and two grandchildren. EMAIL

Vern Shotwell ’54 resides in Riverside, Calif., with his wife, Grace. Vern is a retired nursing home operator whose hobbies include traveling, roses, and irises. Vern has memories of significant professors and staff at wwc who had a lasting effect on his life, such as librarian Ellenore Summerton, W.I. Smith, and C.W. Shankel. Also while at wwc, Vern met his first wife, Florence Shepard, now deceased.

Carolyn (Hayden) Briggs ’59 is a retired nursing instructor living in Cherry Valley, Calif., with her husband, Burton ’61. She taught at wwc and Loma Linda University, and she has been ceo of Briggs Corporation for the last 40 years. Carolyn is active in the local Seventh-day Adventist church and would like to hike the Continental Divide trail. Burton and Carolyn have two children, Susan Chapman att., and Cynthia Briggs ’93 and ’02. EMAIL

Jim A. Brown ’54 lives with his wife, Diana, in Unionville, Mo., where Jim is a self-employed architect and designer. Jim retired for the first time in 1983, and has since retired a second time. He has been involved in projects from new bridges to a missile complex to the international terminal at the San Francisco Airport. Jim remembers a Saturday night spent with his roommate overhauling a car, which reportedly ran another 150,000 miles thereafter. The Browns have two sons, David ’76 and Donald att.

Edwin Christiansen ’59 and his wife, Jeane (Weston) att., live in Shelton, Wash. Edwin is retired from the Loma Linda School of Dentistry. His hobbies include boating, distance running, and ham radio. EMAIL

James Fellows ’59 and his wife, Marjorie (Leinbaum) ’72 and ’77, make their home in College Place. James is retired from the Corps of Engineers. He enjoys stained glass, bird watching, traveling, and camping.

Alfred G. Kromminga ’59 and his wife, Elizabeth (Starkey) att., live in Stanwood, Wash., where Alfred is a retired pastor and teacher. He has served in Indiana, Idaho, California, and Washington. Most recently he was a part-time trust officer for the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Alfred and Elizabeth have two children, Melody Schlaman and David.

Lois Ritchie Ritter ’59 and her husband, Norton Ritter, live in Loma Linda, Calif., where Lois is “almost completely retired” from the faculty at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. She enjoys gardening and watercolors, and is grateful for family, friends, and God’s love and guidance. Lois remembers a winter quarter biology trip through Mexico and Central America, and she is thankful for good friendships made at wwc.

1960s Top
Roman Hintz ’64 and ’72 and his wife, Linda, make their home in College Place, where he teaches at Walla Walla Valley Academy. Roman has four children, Rick ’87, Dave ’87, Sharon Schafer ’91 and ’00, and Darlene Anderson ’94.

Jewell K. (Rasmussen) Phillips ’64 lives in Milton-Freewater, Ore., where she is secretary for the Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Her husband, Randy ’71, is deceased. Jewell has two children, Krista Dalrymple ’90 and Gregory, and three grandchildren.

Ted ’64 and Patricia (Scyphers) Winn ’64 reside in College Place, where Ted works for Windermere Real Estate and Patricia is retired. The Winns have taught at various Adventist schools, and Ted has served as dean and principal at academies. Patricia enjoys reading, sewing, games, and their three grandchildren. The Winns have two children, Mark att., and Elleen Kelly ’90.

Carolyn (Merrill) Van Hees ’64 and her husband, Larry ’67, make their home in Boise, Idaho, where they operate their own building/developing business, VHB, LLC. Hobbies include gardening, the outdoors, cooking, and motorcycling. Carolyn and Larry have two daughters, Tonja Van Hees-Hoover att., and Tricia Henderson att., and three grandchildren. EMAIL

Dorothy L. (Root) Epperly ’69 is a semi-retired registered nurse in Port Orchard, Wash., where she makes her home with her husband, Troy ’74. Dorothy takes voice lessons and is active in the music ministry of their church. Troy and Dorothy enjoy traveling and recently took a trip to the Grand Canyon and several other national parks. Dorothy remembers wwc as a big family, and she has fond memories of weekend events and activities. She also remembers music in the College Church, provided by Dr. Melvin West and his students. Dorothy and Troy have two children, Mike att., and Glen. EMAIL

Carol (Peterson) Lowe ’69 lives in Camarillo, Calif., and currently works as an administrative secretary for the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. She has worked at the conference since 2000 and finds it a blessing to be a part of the Adventist organization, “involved in and aware of the church’s work, personnel and activities, not only in the Pacific Union but also in the North American Division and the world church.” Carol has two children, Jenifer and Adam. EMAIL

Judy (Brown) Silver ’69 is associate chair of the Department of Mathematics at Marshall University in Huntington, W.V., where she lives with her husband, Don ’68. Judy gardens, plays the flute, reads, and hikes, and she recently enjoyed seeing wwc math professors Tom Thompson and Ken Wiggins at national mathematics meetings in Phoenix. Judy fondly remembers her sister Becky, who passed away in 2000. The Silvers have two daughters, Christy Silver-Risch and Katy Silver, and one grandson. EMAIL

1970s Top
Dallas F. Weis ’74 is director of admissions at wwc and lives in College Place with his wife, Cheryl (Reynolds) ’75. Dallas has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels, and earned two masters of education degrees. He is a regular Week of Prayer speaker at Seventh-day Adventist schools and has served as the president of the wwc Alumni Association. Dallas is a competitive runner, and he has completed 13 marathons. EMAIL

Helmuth Jones att., and Janie (Miracle) ’74 live in Paradise, Calif. Helmuth is a medical doctor, and Janie is a registered nurse and business manager. The Joneses are currently enjoying their “empty nest.” Sons Ryan ’98, Sidney, and Phillip have all graduated from college. Helmuth and Janie also enjoy traveling and mission trips. EMAIL

Bud Locati ’74 is a self-employed farmer in Walla Walla. His hobbies include working on his house, and spending time with his kids, Michael and Dylan. Bud lost his wife to breast cancer in 1998 and lists that as his most life-changing event. He fondly remembers friends made at wwc.

Cassie (Johnson) Ragenovich ’74 is the director of Student Financial Services at wwc. She lives in College Place with her husband, Mike att. Cassie has been employed by wwc for the past 29 years.

Janice (Hall) Schirmer ’74 and her husband, John att., make their home in Gladstone, Ore. Janice is a registered nurse at the Adventist Medical Center in Portland, where she has worked for 28 years. She loves traveling and recently went on a mission trip to Borneo. The Schirmers have two children, Amanda curr. att., and Eric. EMAIL

Kathleen (Klein) Spring ’74 lives in Aurora, Colo., where she has a private violin studio. She and her husband, Glenn, moved to Colorado in 2001, after Glenn retired from the music faculty at wwc. Kathleen completed her master’s in violin performance at the University of Denver in 2000. Glenn is composing on commission and teaching one day a week. Kathleen teaches 40 students ages 3 to 60-plus. She also works in publications one day a week at the Suzuki Association of the Americas office in Boulder. They have three children, Brian att., Christopher att., and Heidi att. EMAIL

Linda (Wolcott) Torretta ’74 lives in College Place with her husband, Raymond. Linda is an elementary school educational assistant, focusing on tutoring poor readers. Seeing her students become excellent readers inspires her. Linda has fond memories of worships, chapels, and other religious services on campus, and she remembers strong friendships with other dormitory residents. EMAIL

Marguerite (Heinrich) Ward ’74 is a retired elementary teacher in Surprise, Ariz. Marguerite graduated with a master’s in education from wwc in 1974 and has taught in Washington and California. Her husband, W.H. Ward, passed away in 2002. Marguerite has a son, Wayne att., and grandchildren, David curr. att., and Roseanne curr. att.

Ron Cate ’79 lives in Walla Walla with his wife, Bonnie, where Ron is a registered nurse at St. Mary Medical Center. Ron enjoys home projects and teaches a Sabbath School class, and he hopes to take part in future overseas mission service. The Cates have five children, Michael, Erica, Christopher, Tiffani, and Cassie, along with one grandchild. EMAIL

Gary Fogelquist ’79 is pastor of the North Cascade Seventh-day Adventist Church and lives in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., with his wife, Debbie. Gary enjoys snowboarding, wakeboarding, and mountain climbing. Fond memories of wwc include the racquetball courts and interactions with theology professors. Gary and Debbie have three children and one grandchild. EMAIL

Robert Ford ’79 and his wife, Lesley, reside in Kingsburg, Calif., where Robert is a self-employed certified registered nurse anesthetist. Robert provides all anesthesia care to patients at Selma Community Hospital, a Seventh-day Adventist health facility. His family enjoys traveling and boating, and Robert enjoys his hobby as a private pilot. Robert and Lesley have two children, Michael and Ryan. EMAIL

Arthur Lenz ’79 and his wife, Ruth (Davis) ’81, live in Spokane, Wash. Arthur is director of information and technology services for the Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, where he has been employed for 23 years. He writes, “The creative process of developing the UCC’s accounting software has been both challenging and rewarding. God has blessed Ruth and me with a wonderful family and a place in the work for his kingdom.” Arthur is chairman of the Spokane Junior Academy building committee. The committee’s goal is to building a new $5 million school. In his spare time, Arthur enjoys restoring cars and working on the couple’s house. Arthur and Ruth have three children, Bob, Bill, and Brian. EMAIL

Arleen Pratt ’79 makes her home in Portland, Ore., where she is a registered nurse at Providence Hospital. She enjoys walking and spending time on the West Coast. A favorite memory of wwc is a random surprise party thrown by the college, at which about 200 students met and mingled.

Stephen Tatro ’79 and his wife, Kathy (Wyman) ’82, make their home in Walla Walla where Steve has worked for the u.s. Army Corps of Engineers for 25 years. As a civil engineer specializing in concrete materials and construction, he has consulted on projects nationally and internationally. He recently returned from an assignment in Iraq assessing the condition of dams. The Tatros have two teenage boys, Eric and Zachary. EMAIL

1980s Top
Mark Aden ’84 and his wife, Stephanie, live in Spokane, Wash., with their two children, Erik and Nicole. Mark is a principal at DCI Engineers.

Rosalie (Gooding) Baugh ’84 lives in Aurora, Ore., with her husband, Robert. Rosalie is a registered nurse at the Adventist Medical Center in Portland, and home schools their children, Rachel and Steven. The Baughs run a U-Pick cherry, peach, and nectarine orchard. Rosalie remembers fumbling through basic nursing skills in the classroom and then first caring for “real” patients.

Wendy (Archer) Bleth ’84 and her husband, James, live in College Place. They have two children, Jessica and Joshua.

Michael J. Cook ’84 and his wife, Holly (Hurlbert) ’91, make their home in Auburn, Wash. Michael is a Bible teacher at Auburn Adventist Academy and also taught at Walla Walla Valley Academy for eight years. Michael enjoys sports, playing tennis and basketball and attending Mariner games. He also enjoys playing the guitar. The Cooks have two boys.

Becky (Allemand) Djernes att., lives in Collegedale, Tenn., with her husband, David ’83. Becky works at Southern Adventist University as an administrative assistant in the advancement office and David is vice president for student services at Collegedale Academy. The Djerneses have three children, Jessica, Darrin, and Karisten.

Bruce Iwasa ’84 and his wife, Valerie, live in Payette, Idaho. Bruce is a registered nurse at Holy Rosary Medical Center. Bruce and Valerie have four children, Aubrianne, Andralyn, Joben, and Jillana. EMAIL

Pam (McFarlane) Laue ’84 and her husband, Doug, reside in Portland, Ore., where Pam is assistant director of perioperative services at the Adventist Medical Center. Pam and Doug are in the process of building their own home, doing all the construction themselves. Pam’s memories of wwc include track meets, flying lessons, and accompanying for music lessons. EMAIL

Robert E. Radke ’84 works in park maintenance with the Corps of Engineers in Walla Walla. In his free time he enjoys family activities with his three sons, Jacob, August, and Robert, Jr. He also enjoy athletics, jogging, hiking, yo-yoing, and learning music and dancing. He has also volunteered for the athletics program at WWC. He plans to retire in a couple of years. EMAIL

Theodore Shankel ’84 and his wife, Tamara, live in Calimesa, Calif., where Theodore is a pulmonologist at the Beaver Medical Center. He enjoys surfing, waterskiing, and dirt biking. The Shankels have three children, Jaclyn, Matthew, and Kathryn. EMAIL

Lorrie (Turner) Kravig ’84 and her husband, Dean ’86, live in Wapato, Wash. After spending more than six years in Guam and Singapore and eight years in Washington, the Kravigs are now situated at All Nations Center, the Seventh-day Adventist Church on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Lorrie is busy helping at the church school in Yakima and Dean is program director for the All Nations Center. Lorrie is also involved in many of the outreach ministries of the center. She has also spent time teaching Suzuki violin to kindergartners, and repairing violins and bows. She writes that she is now enjoying watercolor painting to “feed her soul.” The Kravigs have four children, Karissa, Alice, Sacha, and Marinna. EMAIL

Ralph Walter ’84 lives in Cheney, Wash., with his wife, Cathy. After graduating, Ralph was a teacher and principal in Alaska and Washington, and is currently the division chief of Spokane County Fire District 10. He enjoys camping, golf, boating, and travel. Ralph remembers Education Club fundraisers and biology field trips to Wallula Junction and the San Juan Islands. The Walters have two daughters, Shea Miller att., and Erin Segard att. EMAIL

1990s Top
Clifton Robert Bluhm ’94 and his wife, Natasha (Paxton) ’97, lives in Westminster, Colo. He is a physics teacher and also heads the department at Arvada West High School. He completed a master’s degree in outdoor education. EMAIL

Donna (Hepker) Ellis ’94 and ’95 makes her home in Kent, Wash., with her husband, Steve ’98, and their children, Jessica and Stephen. Donna is a social worker with Pediatric Interim Care Center, working with drug-exposed infants. She recently reduced her hours to stay at home with Stephen, who was born in September of 2003. The Ellises enjoy traveling and snow skiing. Donna, whose mother was on the social work faculty, says she “grew up on the wwc campus.” She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school as well. She says that her whole life is a wwc memory. EMAIL

Amy (Fowler) Mocenacagi ’94 is a public health nurse in home health and hospice for Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Ore. In her free time, she enjoys golfing with her husband, Waisle. She also enjoys hiking and music. She writes that her most life-changing experience has been raising the couple’s son, Philip, “a very active and busy boy.”

Julia Montgomery ’94 lives in Walla Walla, where she works as an accountant at Key Technology. Julia enjoys photography, scrapbooking, and antiques, and is a member of Beta Sigma Phi, an international women’s organization in support of social and charity pursuits. She is working on an MBA. Favorite college memories include grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup on Fridays in the cafeteria, vespers services, and the College Store. EMAIL

Trent Nagele ’94 and Kristina (Heidorn) ’94 live in St. Helens, Ore. Trent is a structural engineer and Kristina is an elementary teacher, but she is currently a stay-at-home mom for their daughters, Emily and Kaitlyn. EMAIL

Katie (Mentzer) Waggoner ’94 and her husband, Joe, live in Bend, Ore. Katie is a stay-at-home mom and also had a home-based business called Scandinavian Designworks. She builds custom cedar flower boxes and sells them at home shows and through her Web site at www.scandinaviandesignworks.com. Being a mom is her favorite hobby, but she also enjoys snowmobiling with her husband in the Cascade Mountains. The Waggoners have two children, Julia and Will. EMAIL

David W. Weaver ’94 and his wife, Wendy, make their home in Everett, Wash., where he is senior associate advocate for the Internal Revenue Service. David has traveled around the country on business, and lists the stock market and Seattle SuperSonic basketball among his hobbies. He has fond memories of friendships made at wwc, and he says he may return to the Walla Walla area when he retires. David and Wendy have three children, Andrew, Levi, and Jonathan.

Freda (Harris) Price ’94 is a substitute teacher in the Walla Walla Valley. Freda first began her education studies at wwc in 1964. She left before finishing to become an exchange student in England. After she married, she lived in North Carolina and Oregon before returning to Walla Walla with her husband to start a family and a business. Freda again picked up her college program in 1982, however, a bout with cancer further delayed her studies. She eventually graduated in 1994. She writes “My dream was to be a mother and to finish college. I’ve been blessed to have so many children and a career, too, as a substitute teacher now.” Freda and her husband have nine children, “six original children and three daughters adopted from China.” Their ages range from 8 years to 35 years old. “The encouragement of the wwc faculty—especially Lucille Knapp—sustained my desire to complete my education,” she writes.

Dionne Whitaker-Moore ’95 is one of the alumni in this issue’s feature story. She works for Northop Grumman (a global defense company) as a Senior Oracle dba/System Administrator (Unix). Her current client is the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense which is located in the Pentagon. She writes “I maintain/create/support/tune all of the Oracle 8i/9i databases and application servers that support the budget for the Under Secretary of Defense. I really love my job, and I like working at the Pentagon.” On a personal note, Dionne and her husband, Winton, live in Upper Marlboro, Md., with their two boys, Myles and Maxwell. They recently moved into a 7,148 square foot home they both designed for their own family and also to accommodate both sets of their parents who will be living permanently with them. “We’re really looking forward to having a generational home with unlimited childcare,” jokes Dionne. “My children will be blessed to grow-up living in a home with four grandparents,” she writes. “As the Bible says, ‘Honour your mother and your father that your days may be long in the land which the Lord they God giveth you.’ I can truly say ‘amen’ to that. For God has blessed my family tremendously through the good and the bad.” W

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