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Obituaries
DR. MITCH TURNER
Longtime Professor of Music Dr. Mitch Turner passed away on Feb. 9, 2023. He joined the faculty of LaGrange College in 2002. During his twenty-year tenure, he served as Chair of Music and as Program Coordinator of Music and Film and Media Arts. Turner was the recipient of the Flora Glenn Candler Professorship, a two-year appointment honoring a professor’s effectiveness as a teacher and contribution to the life and work of the college and community at large.
Outside of teaching, Turner spent time playing guitar, composing electronic music and performing with friends.
Dr. Mitch Turner
DR. JON BIRKELI
Professor Emeritus Dr. Jon Birkeli passed away on March 30, 2023, in LaGrange.
Originally from Norway, he first came to the United States as an American Field Service Exchange Student during his senior year of high school in 1958. Birkeli earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, a year before immigrating to the United States in 1965. He also received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of South Carolina in 1971.
Birkeli started teaching part-time at LaGrange College before joining the Business faculty on a full-time basis in 1987. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 2018. During his 31-year tenure, he served as President of the Faculty Assembly, Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees and Department Chair.
DR. JON BIRKELI
DR. DON JOLLY HA’13
Retired Mathematics Professor Dr. Don Jolly passed away on April 23, 2023.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a doctoral degree in mathematics education from Auburn University.
He came to LaGrange College in 1961. For 34 years, Jolly served as Professor and Chair of the Mathematics Department. He was also Chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics for nine years. He stepped down from teaching full-time in 1995 but continued part-time until 2009.
In 2000, the lecture room in Callaway Science Building was named for him. Jolly also was named an Honorary Alumnus in 2013.
DR. DON JOLLY HA’13
