Class Notes Summer 2024

COY CARTER (MA) ’23

JENELLE (VAQUE) FERRER ’06

S U M M E R 2 024

CLASS NOTES IN THE LIVES OF SEU ALUMNI

JORDAN ’18, ’20 (MSK) and SAMANTHA (COPELAND) HELDRETH ’20

CHRISTOPHER INTOPPA ’17, ’19 (MBA)

1962

1980

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JOHN COOPER and his wife, Joyce, have been retired from pastoring for 17 years and live in East Tennessee. They have been married for 59 years.

SCOT WRIGHT and his wife, Chitra (Watumull) Wright, are directors of Watumull Children’s Education, a non-profit organization that helps break the cycle of poverty by providing education opportunities for children in Nairobi, Kenya, and India. He has pastored for nearly 35 years in the Episcopal Church.

1969

___________________________ LARRY CARSON pastored for 49 years, including ministering in Russia for 30 years.

1971

___________________________ LAWRENCE “LARRY” BRIDWELL served 12 years as a firefighter, paramedic and company officer for the Sarasota Fire Department in Florida. He earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS) degree with honors in 1986 from GordonConwell Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Bridwell also worked for 22 years in middle and executive management in the computer and internet security field before his retirement. He and his wife were married for 33 years until her passing in 2004.

PAUL HARRUP and his wife, Nancy, have been married for 50 years.

Together, they have two sons and two granddaughters and live in Winchester, Virginia.

1973

___________________________ FRANK D’AGOSTINO is a research editor for Dorman Products. He has worked as a product and publications manager in the automotive industry for 40 years. D’Agostino previously worked in a Christian school as an administrator and served as an

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FRANK D’AGOSTINO ’73 associate pastor. He currently serves as a deacon, adult Bible teacher and church treasurer. D’Agostino and his wife, Brenda, currently live in New Jersey and have seven grandchildren.

DEXTER LAMBERT serves as a hospice chaplain and does mission work in Central America.

1979

___________________________ DANIEL BOSTIC served 28 years as an educator and administrator in private Christian education. He also spent 16 years as a technology technician in the public school sector and served in pastoral services, youth leadership/ministry and associate ministry for nearly 45 years.

Bostic previously spent 14 years as a sports writer and photographer for a local weekly newspaper. He is married and has two children.

STEVE MILLER has been the pastor of New Hope Assembly of God in Three Rivers, Michigan, for 30 years. He and his wife, Lillian, have three children and eight grandchildren.

1984

___________________________ JAMES “JIM” MANN worked in Christian radio for 30 years. He has owned his own company, Mann Made Productions, since 1996 and has worked for several radio stations as a morning show producer, production director and announcer. In 2016, Mann was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma and given a month or two to live. He is now cancer free and hosts a podcast for the Atlanta-based organization HealingStrong, called “I Am Healing Strong.”

CHRISTOPHER McDERMOTT is a PhD candidate and retired university chaplain at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. He is currently an honorary assistant priest at St. Nicholas in Brighton and is a workplace mediation consultant.

McDermott previously served nine years as a minister and parish priest in the London boroughs of Newham and Redbridge. He also spent 14 years doing neighborhood and workplace mediation, training mediators and helping young people develop nonviolent conflict resolution skills in London’s East End. McDermott previously completed a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy and

Religion from Heythrop College at the University of London.

analyst for the office of undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

She and her husband, Terry, have been married for five years and have three children.

1985

___________________________ MARY “PATRICE” ENTSMINGER has been a missionary with the Assemblies of God World Missions since 1989, serving in Spain for the last 15 years. She previously served in Honduras from 1990 to 2007.

CINDY LESCARBEAU has published her children’s poetry and stories in Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. Magazine, and is a speaker at Winning Women for Christ conferences.

MARTY ISAACS ’87 FRED VON KAMECKE recently published his first novel: a supernatural thriller titled “Where Monsters Prowl.”

1989

KATHRYN (SCHREYER) POPPY ’92

___________________________ JEFFREY L. BROOKS ’19 (MS) is a Florida Board Certified Licensed Mental Health Counselor at New Directions Counseling Center in Lakeland, Florida. Previously, he served in the United States Army Chaplain Corps until his retirement in 2013.

CINDY LESCARBEAU ’85

1992

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1987

___________________________ MARTY ISAACS is the owner and full-time funeral director with Advance Preneed insurance agency. He and his wife, Dawn, live in Vandalia, Ohio, and have been married for 35 years. Together, they have four children, Daniel, Blake, MARIAH ’15 and Natalie.

KATHRYN (SCHREYER) POPPY is the president of the Brighton District Library’s board of trustees in Brighton, Michigan. Previously, she was a consultant and the owner of PublicationSolver.com, where she provided editing and graphic design services for 25 years. Poppy earned her Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. She also worked for 10 years in the executive offices at Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan, and for five years as an

1994

___________________________ DEWAYNE WATSON and his wife, Michelle, met at SEU in 1990. They are lead pastors at Coast Life Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, which serves 47 countries and 58 campuses around the world. Together, they have three adult children and have been married for almost 30 years.

2003

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ELISABETH “LIS” (MUNIZZI) BURNS ’03

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ELISABETH “LIS” (MUNIZZI) BURNS was featured on “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” a musical game show on FOX. She has also published a devotional book series titled “Lessons My Kids Taught Me: A Devotional for Moms Too Busy for Devotionals.”

Burns and her husband, JASON ’03, pastor Access Church in Lakeland, Florida, and have three children.

2004

___________________________ ERICA (WASHBURN) BICKHART is an activities director at 50 North, an activities center for older adults in Findlay, Ohio. She is also a private voice coach, a music director at the Marathon Center for Performing Arts in Findlay, and a backup singer for Walt Sanders, an Elvis tribute artist. She and her husband, Brad, have two children.

2010

___________________________ JUAN MARCOS GARAY is the senior pastor at Grace Community United Methodist Church in Lithia, Florida. He has more than 20 years of ministry experience, including serving as a church planting pastor at Urban Poiema Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as the international ministries pastor at Discover Church in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Garay earned his Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California. He and his wife, Celinés, have a daughter named Dariana and a son named Juan, Jr.

STAN COOK is the lead pastor at New Life Assembly of God in Lakeland, Florida. He also published a book titled “The Great Commission and You: Disciple Making in Daily Practice.”

APRIL FOSTER has been a career missionary with the Assemblies of God in Brussels, Belgium, for more than 20 years. She is also the founder and director of Breaking Chains Network, an organization dedicated to helping victims and survivors of human trafficking.

2012

___________________________ MARYSSA CHAPLIN has been a real estate agent at Keller Williams in Enola, Pennsylvania, for 12 years. She has led missions trips to Northern Ireland and Israel with Lastleaf, a short-term missions organization that partners with local churches around the world. Chaplin also works with Greenlight Operation to help combat human trafficking in Central Pennsylvania.

JUAN MARCOS GARAY ’10

ERICA (WASHBURN) BICKHART ’04

2011

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2006

___________________________ JENELLE (VAQUE) FERRER is the owner of real estate group The Waypointe Group in Oviedo, Florida.

Previously, she worked as a professor at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, for five years where she completed her Master of Science in Entertainment Business. She and her husband, LUCAS ’05, have three children.

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MARYSSA CHAPLIN ’12

STAN COOK ’11

BRITTNEY PEREZ has worked at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota, for almost seven years. She completed a master’s in child, youth and family studies from Bellevue University in Nebraska.

2016

BETHANY TORRES O’BRIEN is an assistant professor of psychology at SEU. She earned a doctorate in general psychology-cognition and instruction emphasis at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2021. O’Brien and her husband, STEVEN ’12, ’23 (MEd), have been married for almost four years.

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JESSE PLUNKETT ’13

2014

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STEVEN ’12, ’23 (MED) and BETHANY TORRES O’BRIEN ’12

2013

___________________________ MATTHEW MADISON is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has taught advanced courses in human physiology, pathophysiology and immunology, and introductory courses in biology and chemistry. Madison earned his PhD in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and has over nine years of experience in biomedical sciences and 14 scholarly publications.

ANGELA “ANGIE” QUEZADA is the evening news anchor for WNCT News 9 in Greenville, North Carolina, where she anchors the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on weekdays.

Previously, she was the weekend news anchor and reporter at WABG in Greenville, Mississippi, where she earned an award from the Associated Press for the best news story in 2016.

Quezada has over 10 years of industry experience, including working as a radio personality for a hip-hop and R&B station, and as the first news director for Delta Radio Network in Greenville, Mississippi. She has one daughter, Avery, and volunteers in her community with nonprofits and local reentry programs, where she helps those who were formerly incarcerated.

MEGAN EVANS ’18 (MEd) is the Varna American International School’s director of English acquisition program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she has hosted and mentored several interns from Southeastern University’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) certification program. She previously helped establish the English Language School Study Abroad in Dadeldhura, Nepal, and worked as a student records specialist for the Registrar at SEU. HANNAH (BRADLEY) HOLLIN serves in the U.S. Army Reserves as a paralegal and is currently working full-time at a Michigan-based law firm. She is currently attending law school at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, on a full meritbased scholarship and will graduate in May of 2026. Hollin and her husband, Tyler, married in 2020. They currently live in Grass Lake, Michigan, and have two cats.

HANNAH (BRADLEY) HOLLIN ’16

JESSE PLUNKETT and his wife, Karli, own Nectar Aesthetics Medical Spa. They oversee 12 employees and have locations in Sanford and Orlando, Florida. Together, they have one daughter.

ANGIE QUEZADA ’14

GABRIEL VELÁZQUEZ is a captain in the U.S. Army and is currently stationed in Poland. He has served as an armor and signal officer with deployments to South Korea and

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Iraq. Velázquez earned a master’s in 2021 and recently completed training at the Defense Information School in Fort Meade, Maryland, to serve as a public affairs officer.

HALEY SPIRES is an officer in the U.S. Army and is completing her family medicine residency program at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Cavazos, Texas.

2018

___________________________ DESIREE AUSTIN is a researcher at Northwestern University’s Comprehensive Transplant Center’s laboratory in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a master’s in biomedical sciences from Roosevelt University in Illinois.

GABRIEL VELÁZQUEZ ’16

2017

___________________________ BRIANA DICESARE has been a school-based mental health counselor for almost four years.

Previously, she served as a substance abuse counselor for three years.

CHRISTOPHER INTOPPA ’19 (MBA) has been the sports information director at Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina, for five years. He is also a member of the College Sports Communicators (CSC), where he contributes to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Sports Information Directors Association (NAIA-SIDA) programming and publications committees. Intoppa was recognized in CSC’s “30 Under 30 Class of 2023.”

He also received the Appalachian Athletic Conference’s Willie Belcher Sports Information Director of the Year award. Intoppa and his wife, Leah, live in Asheville, North Carolina.

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CAMILLA (ESCALERA) CAREY has been a pediatric intensive care nurse at Lakeland Regional Health in Lakeland, Florida, for six years. She is also an adjunct professor of nursing at SEU and teaches in both the BSN and MSN programs. Carey earned her PhD in nursing research from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2023. She and her husband, KEVIN ’17, have one daughter.

Erie College in Painesville, Ohio; and Atlantic High School in Port Orange, Florida. His wife, SAMANTHA (COPELAND) ’20, works as a juvenile probation officer in Polk County. Together, they have one daughter.

WESLEY JOHNSON ’20 (MSK) is the senior engagement officer at SEU’s Office of University Advancement. He is also the owner of FloridaDroning and has worked as a drone pilot for four years. Previously, he worked as an adjunct professor and was the area representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Lakeland, Florida.

WESLEY JOHNSON ’18, ’20 (MSK)

CAMILLA (ESCALERA) CAREY ’18 JORDAN HELDRETH ’20 (MSK) is an offensive line coach at SEU. He previously coached at Flagler Palm Coast High School in Palm Coast, Florida; Lake Gibson Senior High School in Lakeland, Florida; Lake

FAITH WAGNER ’20 (MSK) is the studio director at Earn Your Stripes, a fitness studio in Lakeland, Florida.

She is also an adjunct professor of kinesiology at SEU, and has more than 10 years of experience as a personal trainer and fitness coach.

EDWIN MELENDEZ and his wife, Jackie, have been the senior pastors of Culture City Church in Chicago, Illinois, for more than 20 years.

Together, they have three sons and five grandchildren.

2020

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FAITH WAGNER ’18, ’20 (MSK)

2019

___________________________ KELSI (BLACK) DICKENS (MSK) is a sport management program coordinator and assistant professor at SEU. Previously, she was a tennis professional for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in Orlando and has over 12 years of experience as a tennis coach and instructor. Dickens earned her PhD in sport management from Troy University in Troy, Alabama, in 2023. She is the assistant tennis coach at SEU, and her husband, ANDREW (MSK), is the head tennis coach.

GABRIELLA (DIDIO) MACHADO (MSK) is a registered psychotherapist and intern at Talk to Heal Counselling Services in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.

She earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Yorkville University (YU).

AMANDA McDONALD (MSK) is the director of student success and head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota. She previously served as the academic program liaison for SEU’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

ALLISON STEPHAN works in the admissions department at the Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL), a university located in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area that provides training in linguistics, Bible translation, and literacy and language development. Stephan earned a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Translation from the institution in 2022.

KELSI (BLACK) DICKENS ’19 (MSK) ALLISON STEPHAN ’20

2021

___________________________ McKENZIE ALONS owns her own editing business, MCM Editing. She previously worked as a technical writer for Siemens Energy, a piano instructor, an English tutor and a ghostwriter for Textbroker International. She and her husband live in Sicily, Italy. Together, they have one son.

AMANDA BLOUNT (EdD) is the director of Seminole clubs and chapters for the Florida State University (FSU) Alumni Association in Tallahassee, Florida. She previously worked at Florida Southern College (FSC) for 17 years and at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, for four years.

AMANDA BLOUNT ’21 (EdD) EVELISSE BOOKHOUT (MSW) is a U.S. Army veteran, and founder and chief executive officer of Hands of Hope America (HOHA) in Clermont, Florida, a non-profit that helps more than 4,000 local families with food assistance, social services, financial literacy, education, counseling, youth programs and other services.

Bookhout is also on the Board of Lake County Children’s Services Council and previously served as a residential counselor for the developmentally disabled at Springbrook in Oneonta, New York.

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STACEY WATERS (MSK) is a medical education/lab coordinator at Arthrex, a leading manufacturer of orthopedic medical devices, in Tampa, Florida. Previously, he worked at HealthTrust Workforce Solutions as a certified sterilization technician, and at Brandon Regional Hospital as a certified sterile processing technician and endoscopy technician.

MIRANDA CERVANTES (MSK) is the head athletic trainer at Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

She works primarily with football, softball and flag football. Cervantes previously worked with Lakeland High School’s football team, and helped with football and women’s basketball at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.

EDDIE GRAHAM, JR. is an adjunct sport management professor at SEU. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a paralegal in Washington and Korea for more than five years. Graham earned his Juris Master from Florida State University (FSU) College of Law and is currently pursuing his PhD in organizational leadership from SEU.

ZULLY BECK ’22 MICHAEL GORMAN is a teacher at Oasis Christian Academy in Winter Haven, Florida, where he teaches 8th to 12th grade algebra, biology and chemistry.

MICHAEL GORMAN ’22 EDDIE GRAHAM, JR. ’21

2022

___________________________ ZULLY BECK is a student at the University of Florida (UF) College of Dentistry in Gainesville, Florida. She recently completed a research program with the Oral Biology department at UF researching lung injury from immune response to viral influenza. Previously, Beck served as the founder of the PreDental Waxing Workshop and Club at SEU, and worked as the night shift custodial supervisor for the facilities department.

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SHARA RANDEZ (MSK) is a professional soccer player for Club Deportivo Pradejón (CD Pradejón) in La Rioja, Spain. In addition, she works at a personal training company.

SHARA RANDEZ ’22 (MSK)

2023

___________________________ COY CARTER (MA) is a realtor and broker associate at Preferred Shore Real Estate in Sarasota, Florida, and an adjunct professor at SEU. Previously, he was an associate broker, and realtor and property manager for Wagner Realty. Carter earned his MBA from the University of South Florida (USF). He is also a board member for Habitat for Humanity Sarasota and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast.

JONATHAN PIERRE (MSK) is an assistant sports performance coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He was previously an assistant sports performance coach at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, and a strength and performance coach at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, Florida.

NATHALIE RINCON is a law student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she serves as a representative for the Black Law Students Association. She volunteers for the Penn Pardon project, helping people apply for pardons from the governor for past convictions. This summer, Rincon will be interning for a judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and working at a plaintiff-side firm in Philadelphia.

(TESOL) intern at the Varna American International School in BosniaHerzegovina, and as a research and development intern at the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) in Quito, Ecuador.

2024

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NATHALIE RINCON ’23 ELIZABETH (SANCHEZ BAUTISTA) SANCHEZ NELSEN has been accepted into a PhD program at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. She serves at a neuroscience laboratory at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute in Tampa, Florida. Sanchez Nelsen recently attended and presented at the New England Science Symposium at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She married her husband, ISAIAH ’23, in the summer of 2023.

ELIZABETH (SANCHEZ BAUTISTA) SANCHEZ NELSEN ’23

SERGIO CHOIS received a full scholarship and stipend to join the Master’s in Theological Studies program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also accepted into the Master’s of Theological Studies program at Duke University’s Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. Chois previously worked in SEU’s Barnett College of Ministry & Theology as a Bible and theology tutor and teaching assistant. This summer, he is participating in an all-expensespaid Faith, Climate, Action workshop at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, alongside SEU professor Dr. Robby Waddell.

SEND US YOUR CLASS NOTES EMAIL: alumni@seu.edu Submit online at SEU.edu/alumni

MAIL TO: University Advancement Southeastern University 1000 Longfellow Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33801

SERGIO CHOIS ’24

EMMA STRAVERS works in technical services at healthcare software company Epic Systems in Madison, Wisconsin.

Previously, she worked as a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

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IN MEMORIAM

1958

___________________________ DOROTHY “DOT” (RACHELS) BELVIN passed away on November 26, 2023, at the age of 86. She married her husband, B. Fred Belvin, in 1959, and together they had two children, Fred and Rachel. Belvin previously served as the executive secretary for four mayors in Columbus, Georgia; as a mission’s secretary in Asunción, Paraguay; and retired as a secretary from Jordan, Jones and Goulding in Georgia. She also sang in several church choirs over many years. Belvin was preceded in death by her husband; her father, Talmadge; and her mother, Evelyn. She is survived by her two children; her grandchildren, Paul, Annelise and Conor; and her brother, T. Ray Rachels, Jr.

1969

___________________________ DAVID M. REVELL passed away at the age of 76 on January 3, 2024. He and his wife, Sandra, were married for more than 54 years. Revell was a preacher, teacher, principal, professor and author. He served as an assistant and adjunct professor of natural science and mathematics at Southeastern University for 15 years, from 2004 until his retirement in 2019. During his time at SEU, he was instrumental in bringing Suzie the mastodon to campus. After his retirement from SEU, Revell volunteered at Camp Gilead in Polk City, Florida, went on kayak fossil hunts, ministered at Central Assembly of God in Auburndale, Florida, and held Sunday services at several local retirement homes. He is survived by his wife; his two children, Kevin and

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Kimberly; four grandchildren, Jamie, Julie, Joshua and Lily; five greatgrandchildren; his mother, June; and siblings, Dena, Daniel, Jack and Sarah.

1975

___________________________ PEGGY (CATLETT) SPONG passed away at the age of 84 on May 8, 2023. Her husband, CHARLES “CHUCK” SPONG ’86, passed away on May 12, 2024, at the age of 86. Peggy graduated in 1961 from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, where she met Chuck. Together, they pastored several churches in Kansas before moving to Lakeland to join the staff at Southeastern University in 1969. Peggy taught at Southeastern University for 17 years and Chuck taught 13 years before becoming the Vice President of Student Life and Ministry and eventually leading the Distance Education Program. After their retirement, Peggy and Chuck taught at Assemblies of God Bible colleges in Ukraine, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Japan, Togo (West Africa) and Hong Kong. They are survived by their sons, Chuck II, Stephen and Jonathan; Peggy’s brother, Dick; Chuck’s sister, Carolyn; and six grandchildren.

1986

___________________________ CHARLES “CHUCK” K. SMITH passed away on September 25, 2023, at the age of 60. He was Southeastern University’s educational leadership master’s program coordinator and a professor in SEU’s Master of Education and Doctor of Education programs for 15 years. Smith had more than

19 years of experience in Christian education as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, administrator and headmaster. He also served as the Florida League of Christian Schools’ president for seven years and the Association of Christian Teachers and Schools’ president for four years. Smith was also an ordained Assemblies of God minister and served as a youth pastor, associate pastor and senior pastor.

1990

___________________________ GARLAND OWENSBY passed away at the age of 54 on May 29, 2023. He previously served as the youth and student ministries coordinator and as a professor for Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, for more than 25 years. There, he earned his Master of Science in Practical Theology and Master of Arts in Bible and Theology after earning his bachelor’s in pastoral ministries from Southeastern University. Owensby also completed his Doctor of Educational Ministries from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He ministered as a youth evangelist in El Salvador, and as a youth and children’s pastor at Northside Assembly of God in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and at First Assembly of God in Ocala, Florida. Owensby also traveled and spoke at school assemblies and youth camps; contributed to numerous publications including the YouthWorker Journal, Youth Leader Magazine and The Evangel; was featured on Sirius satellite radio’s clean comedy station, Laugh USA; and performed at several famous improv locations. He is survived by his wife of

31 years, Tiffani; his three sons, Austin, Bryson and Logan; his sisters, Stacey and Crystal; and many other family members.

by his wife and children; his mother, Lee; his siblings, Andrew, Doug and D’Lynn; and 14 nieces and nephews.

2008

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2011

___________________________ AMY DELETTRE passed away at the age of 37 on January 29, 2024. As a Southeastern student, she played soccer as a goalkeeper and set the single-season records in shutouts and goals against average; and is currently second all-time in shutouts and fifth in saves. Delettre previously served as the director of ticket operations for the North Carolina Football Club in Cary, North Carolina, and for the Jacksonville Suns in Florida. She also worked as a senior team leader and assistant manager at Regal Theaters in Cary, North Carolina; a client services supervisor at Aveanna Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia; and sales representative for Primerica. Delettre volunteered for eight years at the Oak City Rescue Mission in Raleigh, North Carolina, and loved attending Comic Cons. She is preceded in death by her father and her beloved dogs, Sadie and AJ. She is survived by her mother; brothers Brian and Cody; grandparents Bill, Carol and Nick; and other extended family members.

JOSEPH LOVETTE passed away at the age of 38 on May 20, 2024. He and his wife, CORRIE (GOLDSMITH) ’10, were married for more than 15 years and had two daughters, Josie Marie and Lucy Jo. Lovette earned his master’s in Sports Management from Liberty University in 2014 and coached middle school boys soccer at Lakeland Christian School for the last ten years.

He worked for Goldsmith Construction for more than ten years and was a founding member of The King’s Church in Lakeland, Florida. Lovette is survived

JOYCE MARIE (BRENNEMAN) LEMASTERS passed away at the age of 71 on December 18, 2023. She and her husband, Bill, were married for 51 years and had two children, Joanna and Andrew. LeMasters and her husband moved to the Lakeland area in 1988 and began their home business, Auto-Tach.

She worked at Southeastern University for more than 18 years beginning in 2006, most recently serving as the operations coordinator for the SEU Ministry Network. She is preceded in death by her parents, Orlo and Thelma; and her sister, Janet. LeMasters is survived by her grandchildren, Penelope, Nora and Theodore; siblings Judie, Joseph, Jim and John; and many other family members. ____________________________ MURRAY DEMPSTER passed away on December 17, 2023. He was previously a professor in Southeastern University’s (SEU) Barnett College of Ministry & Theology from 2010 until he retired in 2020. Before coming to SEU, Dempster was a faculty member at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California, for 40 years. Over his time at Vanguard, he served as a professor of social ethics and as the provost, president and chancellor. Dempster earned his PhD in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was an author, editor and lecturer; he served as the president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and was the editor of PNEUMA: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies from 1993 to 2000. He is survived by his wife, Coralie; his

son, current SEU professor Marlon Dempster; and many other loved ones.

JEFF QUITMAN SHARPE passed away on August 17, 2023, at the age of 94. He pastored and preached for more than 60 years, beginning when he was a teenager in 1943. Sharpe taught at Southeastern University for more than 25 years, first from 1969 until 1976, and then from 1980 until his retirement in 1999. He served as a counselor at the University of South Carolina’s (USC) Veterans Administration in Columbia, where he earned his PhD. Sharpe also started a counseling center at Christian Center Church in Salem, Oregon, and was a counselor at Victory Assembly of God. He was preceded in death by seven siblings, his first wife, and his first great-granddaughter. Sharpe is survived by three sisters, his wife and their three children, ten grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

DONALD FRANKLIN TAYLOR passed away on December 10, 2023, at the age of 87. He and his wife, JANICE (WARD) TAYLOR, were married for 63 years and had two sons, David and Timothy. Taylor attended Southeastern for two years and then transferred to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. He graduated in 1959 with a double major and later earned his master of arts from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.

He taught in public schools and pastored for over 40 years across three Assemblies of God districts, where he built several churches. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brothers.

Taylor is survived by his wife, sons and five grandchildren.

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