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FALL 2004 A L B I O N O T E S
Benjamin William on May 15, 2004 to Bill and Niki Lundquist Mitchell, both ’93. They live in Cincinnati, OH. Kaelyn Michelle on Aug. 2, 2004 to Jason and Louise Meilstrup Ruiter, both ’93. She joins big brother Matthew Logan. Jason is a computer research engineer for Altarum in Ann Arbor. Louise is a stay-at-home mom and parttime Pampered Chef consultant. The family lives in Livonia. Lucy on July 13, 2004 to Cynthia Coe and Matthew Altman, ’94. He is a philosophy professor at Central Washington University. The family lives in Ellensburg, WA. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx Aubrey Madison on July 27, 2003 in Kaliningrad, Russia. She was adopted by Nikole and Erik Thewes, ’94, on Feb. 2, 2004. The Grooms live in Farmington Hills. Suha Ala’a Al-hieh on April 11, 2004 to Ala’a and Martha “Marce” Ashworth Al-hieh, ’95. The family lives in Bloomington, IN. Matan on Jan. 21, 2004 to Chava Alpert and Michael Bloom, ’95. He joins big sister Sarah, 3. They live in Evanston, IL, and can be reached via e-mail at cmsmbloom@sbcglobal.net. Cali Nicole on June 20, 2004 to David, ’95, and Jennifer McLeod Brust, ’96. The family lives in Asheville, NC, and can be reached via their Web site at: www.brustonline.com. Leilani Rose on July 22, 2004 to Stephanie and Scott Casteele, ’95. The family lives in Mason and can be reached via e-mail at: thecasteeles@aol.com. Cristina “Coco” Leslie on Aug. 12, 2003 to Dennis and Patricia LaPointe Chinonis, both ’95. She joins big sister Kate, 2. They live in Birmingham. Lauren Inman on June 17, 2004 to Eric and Stephanie Huey Harrison, ’95. She joins big brother Seth, 4. The Harrisons live in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Allison Sabina on Nov. 3, 2003 to Sean and Jennie Ciesielski Mooney, ’95. She joins big sister Abigail. The family lives in Oxford. Elizabeth Claire on Sept. 13, 2003 to James and Suzanne Avery Boland, ’96. Suzanne works part-time as the director of team development for Clear!Blue, a public relations and marketing company located in Birmingham. They live in Royal Oak.
Jack Edward on June 24, 2004 to John and Tina Mertes Bonney, ’96. He joins big brother Kent, 2. Tina is a stay-athome mom. The family lives on St. Simons Island, GA and can be reached via e-mail at: tina@bonneyweb.com. Caleb James on March 31, 2004 to Jennifer and David Johnston, ’96. He joins big brother Jonah, 1. The family lives in Lake Worth, FL. Lucy Stuart on May 24, 2004 to Aaron and Jen DeRousie Monnig, both ’96. Aaron is self-employed as a health care instructor. Jen continues to work for Intel Corp. They live in Portland, OR. Kyle Christopher on Jan. 16, 2004 to Chris, ’97, and Michelle Beaupre Baker, ’98. The Bakers live in Highland. Kelsey Morgan on April 19, 2004 to Ken and Heidi Schwandt Depault, ’97. Heidi has worked as the director of Sylvan Learning Center in St. Clair Shores since 2002. The family lives in Center Line. Tyler John on March 21, 2004 to John and Jennifer Wollen Klinkman, ’97. He joins big sister Julia, 2. The family lives in Riley Township. Nicholas David on Dec. 4, 2003 to Eric and Gretchen Rubley Leese, ’97. Gretchen is a stay-at-home mom. They live in Flossmoor, IL. Emily Dows on April 10, 2004 to Matt, ’97, and Alissa Lobbezoo Lowman, ’98. The family lives in Plymouth. Lucy Margaret on March 19, 2004 to E.J. and Sarah Malys McCoy, ’97. Sarah is a commercial real estate lender with Standard Federal Bank in Troy. Proud relatives include aunt Melissa McCoy Baker, ’92, and cousins, Greg McCoy, ’89, and Kate McCoy, ’90. The family lives in Clarkston. Micah Benjamin on April 23, 2004 to Richard and Meaghan Powers Bryant, ’98. The Bryants live in Rome, GA. Holden Elijah on Jan. 13, 2004 to Shawn and Jennifer Rummel Bleiler, ’99. She is a librarian. The family lives in Rolla, MO. Collin Andrew on Dec. 16, 2003 to Christopher and Jessica Pyman Jones, ’99. He joins big brother Ewan Christopher. The family lives in Adrian. Kristin Michelle on May 11, 2003 to Amy and Eric Maust, ’99. He is an assistant in the personal training department at Lifetime Fitness in Rochester Hills. They live in Rochester Hills.
Benjamin William on May 5, 2004 to Jim and Becky Wessling Baker, both ’00. Jim and Becky are both elementary school teachers. The family lives in Grand Haven and can be reached via email at: jmbaker@albion.edu or rwessling@albion.edu. Jackson Drake on Feb. 4, 2004 to Eric, ’02, and Marlyce Goff Serges, ’03. The family lives in Swartz Creek and can be reached via e-mail at: LolaS514@hotmail.com. Alexandra Bella on June 19, 2004 to Marisa Chewning, ’03. They live in Birmingham.
Obituaries Philip Becker, ’32, on Jan. 12, 2004. He was the manager and owner of the Ithaca (MI) Lumber Co. for 34 years, at which time the lumber company received nationwide recognition on in-store sales. Philip was a member of the United Methodist Church and was active with the Boy Scouts. He served on the board of the Michigan Retail Lumber Dealers Association. Philip was involved in the Platte Lake Bible Conference in the U.P. for 25 years. He served on the Ithaca school board, was president of the Ithaca Chamber of Commerce and the Gratiot Country Club, and was a member of Rotary International and the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In his retirement he enjoyed criss-crossing the country looking for semi-precious stones. He is survived by his wife, Anna, three children, including Eugene Becker, ’58, 12 grandchildren and 38 greatgrandchildren. Frances Stoker Large, ’32, on Jan. 27, 2004 in Ann Arbor. She taught Latin and English in Waterville, OH. Frances was very dedicated to world peace and social justice. She is survived by a son, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Caroline Reynold Forster, ’33, on March 29, 2004 in Santa Barbara, CA. Caroline taught elementary school for four years in Mount Clemens. She and her husband lived in Battle Creek for 50 years before retiring to Palm Springs in 1989. Caroline was a long-time member of First Congregational Church in Battle Creek and the Battle Creek Country Club and was active in her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. She is survived by a daughter, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
June Hancett Daar, ’34, on July 17, 2004 in St. Francisville, LA. Her first teaching position was in Laingsburg in 1934. Her husband’s career took them to various cities during their 54-year marriage, including Niagara Falls, NY, Houston, TX, St. Louis, MO, and Montclair, NJ. They eventually retired to the Big Rapids area. June was a past regent of the Mecosta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a member of the Clear Lake Community Club and Piecemakers Quilt Group in Fremont. She was noted for her handmade quilts, which won many ribbons at area quilt shows. She is survived by three children and five grandchildren. Mary Lee Vail Balmer, ’36, on July 7, 2004 in Troy. In 1968 she was the “First Lady” of Detroit Commandery No. 1 Knights Templar. She worked as head mistress of the Merrill Palmer Institute in Detroit and as a caseworker for the Children’s Aid Society. She was a member of several groups and organizations, including the Metropolitan Detroit YWCA board, and the Salvation Army auxiliary. Mary Lee also was past president of the Alpha Chi Omega Detroit Alumnae Association. She was an active member of Kirk in the Hills church in Bloomfield Hills. She is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, including Stephanie Lee Reed, ’93, and eight great-grandchildren. Helen Hooper Gerow, ’36, on Jan. 18, 2004 in Sturgis. She retired in 1984 from Sturgis public schools, where she had taught elementary school for 39 years. Helen was an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sturgis, where she served on the St. John’s Guild and taught Sunday school for many years. She is survived by a daughter, two
sons, including Thomas Gerow, ’67, six grandchildren, including Matthew Sutter, ’97, and five great-grandchildren. William Umphrey, ’36, on June 24, 2004 in Grand Rapids. He served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, completing his post-war military service as a lieutenant commander in the Grand Rapids Naval Reserve. He was a nationally recognized agent for Mutual Benefit Life and was a long-time member of Fountain Street Church. He was also active with the Grand Rapids Rotary, Peninsular Club and the Kent County Conservation League. He is survived by his wife, Nyla, four sons, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A. Dewitt Brewer, ’38, on May 6, 2004 in Elk Rapids. After serving in U.S. Army counter-intelligence during World War II, Dewitt was a political reporter for the Battle Creek Enquirer and News. He then served as public relations director for the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce from 1948 to 1952, and as associate public relations counsel for the Michigan State Medical Society from 1953 to 1956. During that time, Dewitt also did public relations work for charitable organizations and political campaigns. He joined the Mount Clemens Savings and Loan Association in 1956, serving as vice president and president. Dewitt was active with the Rotary Club and First United Methodist Church of Mount Clemens. He earned a master of journalism degree from Northwestern University. He was elected to the Albion College Board of Trustees. He is survived by his wife, Barb, three children, including Emmy Brewer Strong, ’68, three grandchildren and a sister, Emily Belle Brewer Matthews, ’35.
Robert Bemer, ’40, passed away on June 22, 2004 in Possum Kingdom Lake, TX. A pioneer in the field of digital computing, Bob helped devise the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), a system for representing letters and numbers in code that is still in use. He was introduced to computers in 1949 while doing engineering work on military aircraft for the Rand Corporation in California. He worked for aircraft companies, including Lockheed, until 1955, when he joined the programming research department of IBM in New York. In the late 1950s, he served as an advisor for another computer standard, Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL). He joined Sperry Rand’s Univac division in 1962. The ESC key and backslash on personal computer keyboards are also his inventions. Bob received Albion’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, and received the Computer Pioneer Award from the U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in May 2003. He is survived by his wife, Bettie, six children, two stepchildren, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Marvin Vann, ’40, passed away on July 17, 2004. He was a resident of Green Valley, AZ. An astronomer, Marvin worked for Lockheed Missile and Space Co. during the early years of space exploration. He later spent 11 years as the director of the Foothill College Observatory and Planetarium in Los Altos, CA. Marvin invented the solar prominence telescope, giving amateur astronomers a safe way to study the sun, and he built or restored numerous telescopes that he donated to planetariums and observatories around the world. He was also an amateur archaeologist who led many expeditions to Mexico. He received Albion’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996. Marvin’s life and work has been chronicled in Sun-Chaser, a book written by James Cook, professor emeritus of English, released in fall 2004 by University of Michigan Press. Marvin is survived by his wife, Veronica Ransom Vann, ’41, and four children.