News

1939
DOROTHY FRYER WILLIAMSON joined her classmates for a 60-year class reunion on June 11. Both the Class of 1939 and the Class of 1949 marched in a procession as part of this year's Ivy-Cutting ceremonies. A photo of Dorothy and 1999 graduate EVELYN BATES SENN at Ivy-Cutting was taken by their mutual friend HELEN JOHNSON '65.

1957


REBECCA DAVEY has served as a missionary nurse at the Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) for 36 years. She left Bangladesh in May to return to America and Canada for a year of furlough ministry. "What the future holds is up to the Lord," she writes. One possibility is that she will return to Bangladesh to be educational coordinator of the Memorial Christian Hospital Project.

1958


ROSE MARIE BAILEY KOFFKEY '58 writes that her husband of 39 years, "Lucky," died February 23, 1999, at the age of 74. The couple lived in Clinton, Washington, for 24 years before moving to Stanwood.

1959


MIKE MARTIN now holds the position of vice president at CRISTA Ministries. He previously served as the organization's executive director of senior ministries, transferring to the position of superintendent of King's Schools in the spring of 1998. Mike resides in Edmonds, Washington.

1961


PAUL HIGHSMITH began a new position on July 1 as principal of Mercer Island High School on Mercer Island, Washington. For more than 30 years, Paul has worked in the field of education as a teacher, student activities director and principal. Most recently, he served as principal of Orting Middle School in Orting, Washington. Paul holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Seattle Pacific and a doctorate from the University of Washington.

1962


JIM THURSTON is a missionary in Santiago, Chile, and a pioneer in developing mass communications in Latin America. He has produced video Bible classes in Spanish for more than 22 years. Recently, Jim created a web site at www.thebook.com/studio_jvt to introduce Latins to the Christian faith and link Spanish-speaking Christians on a global network. Jim and his wife, Lina Gallegos, have three children.

1968


MARIE CALDWELL PETERS and her husband, Frank, have been missionaries with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Indonesia for more than 24 years. After 22 years in a small village, they recently moved to a city in the center of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, where they teach in the Tenggarong Bible College. Marie and Frank have three daughters. Their only son died seven years ago at the age of 16.

1971


SYLVIA BOEHI STAY was presented in October 1998 with the highest award given by the Washington State Public Health Association (WSPHA). The Tom Drummey Memorial Award honors an individual who has demonstrated continuing interest in, and support of, WSPHA activities. Sylvia, the maternal-infant supervisor for Whatcom County Health and Human Services in Belling-ham, Washington, has been an active member of WSPHA for several years, and served as the association's president in 1995.

1972


RICK BEST is now associate pastor at First Christian Church in Port Orchard, Washington. Before taking the new position, Rick and his wife, CATHY HANSTAD BEST, worked in business for 25 years, developing their own restaurant chain, "Best Burgers." The youngest of their two sons, JASON BEST '99, graduated from SPU in June.

1976


BRUCE LALONDE and TINA JONGEJAN LALONDE were recently "surprised and blessed" by the birth of their first natural child after 22 years of marriage. Their infant son joins a busy family of three adopted children and two foster children. The LaLondes live in Anchorage, Alaska, where Bruce is the station manager for Alaska Airlines. Tina has been teaching Kindergarten and first grade at Sonrise Christian School for the past seven years, but is now taking a break to be at home with the baby.

1979


SUE STEELE BECKMAN and her husband, JAMES BECKMAN '80, spent two years (1995-97) in Japan as missionaries with the Evangelical Free Church Mission. The couple has returned to Seattle where they are busy with jobs and church activities.

1981


KATIE KERR has been promoted to associate director for library services and assistant professor of law at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. Katie lives in Thousand Oaks.

1982


PATTI PEARCE has joined Music Works Northwest as director of finance and operations. Music Works Northwest is a nonprofit music education center in Eastgate, Washington. Patti makes her home in Seattle.

1983


SONJA NUTLEY WEST works part-time from home for an engineering consulting firm in Seattle, and does freelance editing and writing. Last year, she and her husband, John, an assistant professor of political science at SPU, were invited to teach a new Bible study for older single adults. The study had a weekly attendance of about 40 and will resume this fall. John and Sonja have a newborn daughter.

1984


DEVIN HARRISON is on staff at the University of Washington Medical Center as the cornea specialist.

HEIDI HEITMILLER WINTER is a full-time homemaker and mother of two. Her husband, Wolfgang, is the principal of the junior/senior high school in their hometown of Nome, Alaska. Heidi and Wolfgang visit their families in the "lower 48" states every summer.

1986


LORRAINE (LORI) BABA HAGEN is in her third year as a "creative memories consultant," part of a home-based business in which she teaches classes on how to create photo albums and scrapbooks. Her husband, Brent, recently established a CPA firm in Edmonds, Washington. Lori and Brent reside in Lake Forest Park.

LISA KOLBERG KEUSS, a teacher in the Lake Washington School District, was recently given an "Outstanding Teacher Award" by Lakeshore Learning, a curriculum bookstore. She was selected from several nominees submitted by school administrators. Lisa has taught seventh grade for eight years and is the Language Arts Department chair at Finn Hill Junior High. She lives in Seattle.

1987


RAJ KUMAR SINGH was awarded a juris doctor degree by Valparaiso University School of Law (VUSL) in May. He also received a certificate in the "criminal practice" area of concentration. He writes, "I owe a debt of gratitude to the Lord, and the fine professoriate and administrations of SPU and VUSL."

1988


DALEN HARRISON lives in Portland, Oregon, and is an executive with Intel. He also serves as a missions pastor at his church.

1990


ANN JARVIS has been named the director of education and safety for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington. She has 30 years of experience in the construction industry and is active in a number of construction industry associations. Ann lives in Edmonds, Washington.

JEANETTE MAXWELL works at Mercer Island Florist on Mercer Island, Washington, as a customer service representative. She lives in Redmond.

1991


DARLENE WILLIAMS will begin study this fall at the University of Hawaii. A resident of Honolulu, she is pursuing a doctorate in political science.

1992


PAUL CHAPMAN and RACHELLE MEE-CHAPMAN recently moved back to Seattle after attending graduate school at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. In May, they both received master in Christian studies degrees from Regent: Paul in church history, and Rachelle in applied theology. In keeping with Regent's emphasis on the value of "marketplace ministries," Paul has returned to Microsoft, where he is working as a project lead in developer tools. Rachelle completed her thesis, "Religious Rituals for Contemporary Churches," while caring for their newborn daughter, and is now working in the area of community development for their home church, Vineyard Christian Fellowship. She is also seeking publication for two writing projects.

1995


JANELLE JOHNSON has completed her master's degree in biology at San Diego State University in California. She works as a marine biologist at the Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory in San Diego and resides in Escondido.

1997


MELANIE BLEDSOE is serving as a Peace Corps volunteer and health educator in Ocotal, Nicaragua. She has been in the Central American country since April 1998, and will return to the U.S. in the summer of 2000.

1998


ERIKA BOTHA spent the 1998-99 academic year in Japan under the sponsorship of the Japanese English Teaching Service or JETS. She lived in the town of Sasayama, located north of Kobe and Osaka on the island of Honshu. During Christmas vacation, she and some friends visited the island of Bali in Indonesia. Erika, a former varsity runner on SPU's cross country and track teams, found time to run while in Japan, and competed in some races, including a half-marathon. She returned to Sacramento, California, this summer to begin a master's degree TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) program at Sacramento State University in the fall.


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