No degree plan was too tedious for record-holding registrar Rasco The thumbprint of Kenneth Hugh Rasco (’48) was on the transcript and Commencement credentials of tens of thousands of students who attended ACU during the record 35 years (1950-85) he served as registrar. Rasco – whose kindness, humility, grace, patience and eye for detail were legendary among those who knew him – died Sept. 18, 2014, in Abilene at age 93. Rasco was born Jan. 23, 1921, in Tyler, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, earning four Air Medals with four oak leaf clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism during his 35 missions over Germany and France. He married Marianna Yarbrough (’53) on Jan. 1, 1954, in Fort Worth. Rasco earned an associate degree from Tyler Junior College in 1941 before earning his B.A. from ACU. He later earned an M.A. from Northwestern University. Rasco joined the ACU faculty in 1949 as an instructor of English, retiring in 1986 as assistant professor emeritus of English
and registrar. He was active in the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. He served as a deacon at Abilene’s University Church of Christ. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Berta Lou McGlathery Rasco; brothers Edwin Rasco and Alvin Mack McCary; and a sister, Ethlene Buffington. Among survivors are Dr. Marianna Rasco, his wife of 60 years; a daughter, Dr. Amy Coffey (’79); a son, Kern Rasco (’80); five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and a sister, Merle (Rasco ’54) Holmes.
Starnes’ organization, creativity helped ensure ACU events were special
STEVE BUTMAN
Dr. Ted Duncan Starnes (’55), whose creativity helped make theatre productions shine and who helped redefine the face of special events at his alma mater, died Dec. 7, 2014, in Abilene at age 81. His 38-year career in higher education spanned notable roles at ACU and Pepperdine University. Starnes was born July 5, 1933, in Houston and graduated from Abilene High School in 1951. After earning a B.A. in speech/drama from ACU in 1955, he served in the U.S. Army from 1955-57, earned a Master of Arts degree in speech/drama from Pepperdine in 1961 and a doctorate in drama education from the University of North Texas in 1983. He also studied at the University of Southern California. He met Beverley Camp (’57) during his senior and her freshman year at Abilene Christian, and they married July 5, 1957. Starnes twice served as director of theatre at Pepperdine (1961-70 and 1976-79) but invested the majority of his career at ACU, where he joined the faculty as assistant professor of communication in 1970 and became associate professor in 1979. He was named director of university events in 1979, director of volunteer development and ACU events in 1989, and he retired in 1999.
His organizational skills and his years of expertise in theatre, lighting and staging – he was largely technical director of numerous dinner theatre shows and Homecoming musicals at ACU but also directed dinner theatre productions such as The Rainmaker in 1982 – served him well after he left the classroom. Starnes’ later work encompassed directing Sing Song and Freshman Follies, and overseeing design and production of major ACU events such as Opening Assembly, Commencement, the President’s Circle Dinner, fundraising events, and concerts at venues from Moody Coliseum to the Paramount Theatre in Abilene to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. In his spare time, Starnes volunteered his time as a design, production and technical consultant for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center telethons and fundraising dinners, the Abilene Opera Association and the Abilene Preservation League, and as a visiting director for the Abilene Community Theatre. After retirement, he worked part time at The Hamil Family Funeral Home. In 2005-06 he was a member of ACU’s Centennial Photography Archivists Team. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rufus and Willow Drue (Garner) Starnes; a brother, Rufus G. Starnes Jr. (’41); and two sisters, Elaine (Starnes ’48) Bryant and Yvonne (Starnes ’48) Smith. Among survivors are Beverley, his wife of 57 years; two sons, Robert Mac Starnes (’88) and Thomas Duncan Starnes; a brother, Mac D. Starnes (’58); and three grandchildren.
Howeth admitted, recruited students to ACU for more than a quarter century Clinton Everett Howeth (’52), former longtime ACU director of admissions and placement, died Dec. 17, 2014, in Glen Rose, Texas, at age 84. He was born Sept. 12, 1930, in Glen Rose, where he also graduated from high school in 1948. Howeth earned a degree in agriculture from ACU the same year – 1952 – as he married Shirley Belcher (’53). He earned another bachelor’s degree (in business) from ACU in 1974 and a master’s degree in management and human relations in 1975. After serving from 1953-55 in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he worked as assistant personnel officer for the USDA Soil Conservation service in Temple. He joined the ACU staff in 1966 and served 26 years, most of them as director of admissions and placement. He also was an international admissions counselor, traveling throughout the Far East to recruit students. 78
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Howeth was president of the Texas Association for School, College and University Staffing, and a member of the Southwest Placement Association and of the National Association of Foreign Student Admissions. He was recognized The Howeths as ACU Professional Staff Member of the Year in 1980, served as chair of the ACU Credit Union board and retired in 1992. Howeth was preceded in death by Shirley, his wife of 63 years who passed away 12 days earlier (see page 76); and his parents, Floyd and Ethel (Eddy) Howeth. Among survivors are his daughters, Debbie (Howeth ’75) Lambert, Denise (Howeth ’77) York and Diane (Howeth ’83) Hulburt; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.