Alumni are invited to submit recent news of interest to others — marriage, job change, birth of a child, award, promotion, graduate school, retirement and so on — to the Office of Alumni Relations. Mail to 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS 67117, e-mail to alumni@bethelks.edu or submit via the Bethel website. Please model your information after the current listings below, beginning with name, class year, city and state.
Anyone who earns 24 or more credit hours is a Bethel alumnus, whether a graduate or not. When reaching alumni status, they are assigned a class year (later replaced by grad year if they graduate).
The year behind each name below is the person’s class year, often the same as the grad year unless the individual has told the alumni office that they wish to associate with another reunion year (as in the case of a five-year program, study overseas, etc., that delays graduation).
1940–49
Jacob D. Jake Goering ’41, North Newton, at age 96 received the 2014 Faye McCoy Positive Aging Award from LeadingAge Kansas in Manhattan Oct. 1. LeadingAge Kansas is a nonprofit organization for retirement centers and nursing homes in the state. Jake was honored for his active approach to aging while living at Kidron-Bethel Village in North Newton. He is a board member for the North Newton Community Foundation.
1950–59
Roland Duerksen ’54, Oxford, Ohio, served on a panel focused on Telling Our Stories: Building the Freedom Summer Legacy at a conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. The event was held in Oxford, Ohio, where many of the 1964 volunteers were trained. Roland spoke about his experience helping with voter registration and teaching in a Jackson, Mississippi, freedom school that summer. He and his wife Mary (Moyer) ’51 are retired on a small wooded acreage near Oxford.
Marlow Ediger ’53, North Newton, received notice that his biography will be printed in the 2015 edition of Who’s Who in the World, and that the following of his manuscripts were published: Oral Communication Across the Curriculum in the Journal of Instructional Psychology; Reading, Science and the Pupil in the Connecticut Journal of Science Education; Leadership in the School Setting in Edutracks; The Changing Role of the School Principal in the College Student Journal; Teaching Social Studies in Depth in Education; and Philosophies of Teaching Reading in Reading Improvement. Marlow was reappointed to the editorial board of Edutracks, a professional journal for individuals interested in education. He was appointed as a member of the External Examination Committee to appraise doctorate theses for Nagarjuna University in India and is adjudicating a university thesis for their doctoral program. Marlow, who celebrated his 87th birthday in October, still writes professional manuscripts each day for publication.
Hilda Regier ’58, New York City, was elected president of the Victorian Society New York at its annual meeting in June. With nearly 300 members, the organization is the largest of the 16 chapters of the Victorian Society in America. It is dedicated to appreciation and preservation of America’s architecture, art, decoration and culture in the period 1837-1917. To carry out this mission, the all-volunteer board of the New York chapter sponsors eight free lectures and arranges eight to 10 paid bus and walking tours each year. The chapter also awards monetary grants to support efforts by local groups to obtain designation by the New York Landmarks Commission as historic districts, and to assist preservation and restoration projects.
1960–69
Henrik Eger ’66, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, had an article published in Philadelphia’s largest cultural magazine, the Broad Street Review, about a new playwright, James Ijames. Henrik wrote about Ijames’ play The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington. Henrik also did another interview with Ijames, published in Philadelphia’s independent theater and arts magazine, the Phindie. The Broad Street Review also published Henrik’s interview with Colin Quinn of Saturday Night Live fame, as well as his review of the musical How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, which was performed at the Walnut Street Theatre. The Phindie published Henrik’s article The ups and downs of success, about the underbelly of life in the theater, namely theater artists working on stage for a few weeks and then joining the unemployment lines again.
Alfred Habegger ’62, Enterprise, Oregon, has released a third biography, Masked: The Life of Anna Leonowens, Schoolmistress at the Court of Siam (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014). Alfred is professor emeritus of English at the University of Kansas. Margaret Landon’s writings about Leonowens’ experiences in the best-selling book Anna and the King of Siam were transformed into a Western myth and later into the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. Of Alfred’s book, reviewer and historian Deborah Cohen wrote in the Wall Street Journal: Masked is not just a book about Anna Leonowens. It is also and more compellingly a history of why Americans so avidly took up her story.
Dave Jantzen ’68, Houston, retired after coaching track and cross country for 42 years. He was head track and cross-country coach at three Houston-area high schools for 31 of those years. One of them, Houston Christian High School, named their invitational cross-country meet for Dave. This fall, he received the Robert Capers Award for outstanding track and field officiating in the Southeast Texas district for USA Track and Field.
Janet (Klaassen) ’63 and Orvin Voth ’64, Newton, bicycled from Newton to Alaska during the summer. They kept a blog at jmkvoth.blogspot.com. They traveled with their sons, Jon and Ian, and Jon’s friend, Christian Rodriguez. They started in Newton May 23 and reached Alaska in July.
1970–79
Faith Allen ’78, Kansas City, Missouri, former general secretary of the General Department of Evangelism and Missions of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, was the guest evangelist at a revival series at Trinity CME Church in Indianapolis, Oct. 13-15.
Edward Epp ’71, Portland, Oregon, spent two weeks in May setting up computers in the Mayiwane Primary School in Swaziland. Intel Education Service Corps initiated the project in collaboration with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, providing technical and training support to the teachers, students and administration. To see photos, visit the online album.
Bernice Kaufman ’76, Moundridge, graduated May 24 with a certificate in theological studies from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana. Berni is executive assistant for Mennonite Women USA and a member of Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge.
1980–89
Barry Janzen ’81, Longmont, Colorado, sings in the Ars Nova Singers choral group based out of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado. The group’s first performances of the season were Oct. 11-12 in Boulder, as part of Naropa University’s 40th-anniversary celebration. The program included the world premiere of Warrior Songs, a five-movement concerto for percussion and choir by Canadian composer Peter-Anthony Togni, who conducted the piece. Barry also sings with an a cappella group in Louisville, Colorado.
Lora Jost ’88, Lawrence, received the 2014 Phoenix Award for visual arts from the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission. Each year, the commission honors five local artists or arts-based organizations. In addition to several public art projects, Lora has taught free workshops for Lawrence nonprofits GaDuGi SafeCenter and Family Promise.
John S. Simelane ’86, eMalahleni, South Africa, has written Whispers in the Deep: Rarity: Precious and Priceless (Partridge Publishing Africa, 2014) to celebrate the life of his late wife, Leah Lienkie Simelane. The book is available in hardcover or e-book format through Amazon.com and Kalahari Books. John plans to use income from sales of the book to establish a foundation to support children from vulnerable and indigent families, starting with those whom Leah adopted while she was still alive.
1990–99
Eric Cook-Wiens ’99, Lawrence, is one of a small number of people in Kansas to earn the Patient-Centered Medical Home Certified Content Expert designation from the National Committee on Quality Assurance. Before joining the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative, Eric served as an epidemiologist for the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, both at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He earned a master of public health degree from the University of Michigan.
Tammy Sawatzky ’98, Winnipeg, Manitoba, transitioned in April to the Winnipeg Art Gallery as the public relations coordinator after three-and-a-half years as communications coordinator at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg. She is responsible for the design workload, advertising coordination, and purchasing, media relations and writing.
Doug Shima ’91, Topeka, received the Above & Beyond Award from the Topeka Public Schools this year. As the parent of a Topeka West High School student, Doug has contributed countless hours to beautifying the school’s landscaping. He helped lead the ShareFest effort that put in 200 plants, and mulched the gardens around the Topeka West campus.
Jaroslav Tir ’95, Lafayette, Colorado, had his work cited in Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, a report on human security by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The 2012 article by Jaroslav and colleague Douglas M. Stinnett, Weathering Climate Change: Can Institutions Mitigate International Water Conflict? in the Journal of Peace Research, finds the risk of militarized conflict over international river water is reduced significantly when countries that share rivers institutionalize their cooperative efforts through river treaties. Jaroslav is professor of political science at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Ken Troyer ’93, Lyons, co-authored a textbook, Argumentation and Debate: A Strategic Approach (Linus Publications, 2014), which is being used this fall for communication classes at a number of colleges and universities. Ken is an assistant professor and chair of the Department of Communications, Media and Theatre Arts, at Sterling College. He co-authored the book with Gary Harmon of Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina, and David Bailey of Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri.
2000–09
Sarah Rempel Claassen ’02, Baltimore, spoke before the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights at the United Nations in Geneva Oct. 31, on the topic of how labor recruitment affects migrant workers.
Joel Garber ’07, Norman, Oklahoma, is a choral conducting teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma.
Todd Flory ’04, Wichita, is a teacher with Andover USD 385. He also is a 2014 Skype in the Classroom Master Teacher.
Matt Kaiser ’06, Eugene, Oregon, completed his residency at the Spokane Medical Education and Residency Program in Family Medicine in Spokane, Washington. He and his wife Hang Pham, also a medical doctor, practice family medicine at Peace Harbor Medical Center.
Megan (Abrahams) Kelley ’08, Hesston, works in Human Resources at Prairie View in Newton.
Becky Mueller ’06, Halstead, is an instructional designer at Yodle in Austin, Texas.
Nathan Schmidt ’09, Atwood, is a dentist at Rawlins County Dental Clinic.
2010–19
Dmitry Bucklin ’13, Beloit, teaches music to all grades at St. John’s Catholic School in Beloit.
Rhonda Butler ’11, Newton, was inducted into Alpha Eta Honor Society in May and given the Outstanding Orthopedic/Sports Medicine Student Award for the Wichita State University Doctor of Physical Therapy class of 2014.
Camille Claassen ’12, Hutchinson, graduated in May with a master of accountancy degree from Kansas State University. She began working for Kansas Farm Management Association in July.
Wes Goodrich ’14, Tucson, Arizona, is serving a one-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service. He is an associate with the Patient-Centered Medical Home Program of St. Elizabeth Health Center in Tucson.
Megan Leary ’14, Tucson, Arizona, is serving a one-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service. She is working at Primavera Foundation.
Audra Miller ’14, San Francisco, is serving a one-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service, working with DISH (Delivering Innovation in Supportive Housing).
Josh Nathan ’10, Los Angeles, was interviewed Oct. 22 by Gordy Hoffman for his BlueCat Screenplay Competition. The online interview focused on Josh’s participation in Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School as well as a recent short film that Josh wrote, directed and produced, entitled Another Easygoing Brother in the Meadow Wind. The interview can be found on BlueCat’s YouTube page.
Christopher Riesen ’13, Beatrice, Nebraska, is the chemist at Koch Nitrogen Company in Beatrice. He tests the integrity and quality of finished fertilizer products. Koch produces fertilizers for agricultural use, and carbon dioxide for making dry ice.
Samantha (Askew) Rumbaugh ’11, Hanover, is a social studies teacher for Hanover public schools.
Nicole Smith ’14, Alamosa, Colorado, is serving a one-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service. She is working with the Center for Restorative Programs.
Marike Stucky ’14, Madison, Wisconsin, is serving a one-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service. She is a marketing copy writer with the Wisconsin Historical Society Press in Madison.