THE RECORD Online

Summer/Fall 2003 In Memory

Alumni in Memory

Faith (Corson ’32) Donnell died Nov. 18, 2002 at age 98. She was a former teacher and co-owner of Donnell Funeral Home. She taught eighth grade at Reno for one year and at Central School for nine years while attending Greenville College, Illinois State University, and State University at Charleston. She assisted her husband in the operation of Donnell Funeral Home for 38 years before selling it on Jan. 1, 1976. Donnell was a member of the Greenville Free Methodist Church, B.T. Roberts Sunday school class, Bonney Crandall Missionary Circle, Benjamin Mills Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Senior Citizens K Club, and Bond County Retired Teachers. Donnell was also a charter member of the Utlaut Hospital Auxiliary and served on the selection committee of the Viola Thompson Scholarship Committee.

Rev. W. Donald Mack ’33 died Dec. 16, 2002 at age 92. He was an Army chaplain in Germany during World War II. He also pastored Free Methodist churches in Iowa, Washington, and Illinois.

Mary E. Ulrich ’39 died Dec. 4, 2002 at age 86. She came to Greenville College after attending Los Angeles Pacific College for two years. Following her graduation from Greenville, she went back to California where she taught in Los Angeles public schools for more than 35 years, primarily in Hispanic areas and at the second grade level. She was active in the Pasadena Free Methodist Church, Big Bear Community Church, and Desert Heights Christian Fellowship. Ulrich was a long-time supporter of Christian education and sponsored a foster child through International Children’s Ministries.

Charles George, Jr. ’41 died Nov. 23, 2002 at age 82. A former serviceman in the Army Air Corps, he spent his working career with Parke-Davis in pharmaceutical research where he helped develop the polio vaccine.

Raymond W. Hibbett ’43 died April 16, 2003 at age 81. He attended Greenville College prior to serving in the Army Air Force during World War II. He worked in the steel industry as a production manager and in sales. Active in the Presbyterian Church, Hibbett and his wife performed musical entertainment for clubs, churches, and private parties.

Dr. Fordyce J. Bennett, Jr. ’45 died Sept. 15, 2002 at age 81. He was a former pastor of Free Methodist churches from 1943 to 1961. He later served as chairman of the English language and literature departments at Olivet Nazarene University from 1962 to 1969 and at Pasadena Point Loma University from 1969 to 1986. Involved in ministry in California at a number of churches, Bennett was a calling pastor for the Hesperia Church of the Nazarene from 1988 to 2002, and also for Church of the Valley Presbyterian church. In the 1980s, he was the pastor of Bresee Church of the Nazarene.

Nela (Hignite ’50) Dickinson died Jan. 24, 2002 at age 79. She built propeller planes for five years as a World War II volunteer before later serving as a fourth grade teacher in Davison, Mich., for over 20 years. Dickinson was a member of Davison United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday school and helped run the junior church program with her husband.

Cora E. (Campbell ’53) DeBolt died Dec. 14, 2002 at age 70. After raising her family in St. Louis, Mo., she moved to Peoria, Ill., and worked as a secretary. DeBolt later had a business with skin care products and vitamins.

Frances T. (Redding) Wall ’54 died Nov. 2, 2002 at age 94. She was a teacher of 42 years, having taught in Illinois at Oak Grove, Pocahontas, Shelbyville, Nashville, Hookdale, and Vandalia before retiring in 1973. She was a member of the Bond County Retired Teachers, Delta Kappa Gamma, and the Browning Club.

Harvey T. Winckles ’55 died July 7, 2002 at age 71. He retired from the Monroe, Mich., public schools in 1996 after teaching for 30 years. Prior to his tenure in the Monroe schools, Winckles taught and served as principal for Airport community schools. He belonged to the Monroe Free Methodist Church where he was a charter member. There he served as a Sunday school teacher and church treasurer. He was also on the church board. He was a member of ARC of Monroe County, Community Mental Health, the Gideons, the board of See & A Credit Union, MEAR-MARSP, Circus Fans of America, and the Magicians Club.

Rev. Peter C. Davis ’59 died Feb. 13, 2002 at age 68 from liver and colon cancer. He graduated from Asbury Seminary in 1962 after attending Greenville College. He was a former pastor of Free Methodist churches in Wisconsin and Indiana. He also worked in the office at Speed Queen in Ripon, Wis., for 29 years, retiring in 1996. In retirement, he also continued his ministry, serving as pastor of pastoral care at Grace Reformed Church in Fond du Lac, Wis., until his death.

L. Leroy Rice ’66 died March 10, 2003 at age 60 in South Africa.

Nancy E. (Clark ’67) Sanders died June 20, 2002 at age 56 from an auto-immune deficiency disease which attacked her organs. She was an English teacher for 34 years before retiring in 2001. She taught at McHenry Junior High School and Edgebrook School for 32 years. Twice honored with “Teacher of the Year” awards, Sanders regularly led programs on the Holocaust and the Japanese culture.

Normally, we reserve these pages for Greenville College alumni and former members of the faculty and staff. However, we feel compelled to make an exception in the case of Marion W. Jenner, who died at age 88 on September 9, 2002. The following excerpt comes from a tribute given by Dr. W. Richard Stephens, president emeritus.

Marion Jenner Marion Jenner lived among us as a major presence in Bond County, a presence as large as his size and as great as his heart. Marion was “at home” with all of us, farmer and townspeople, schooled and unschooled, churched and unchurched, the high and the low, the hurting and the healthy. And always his presence was as a man without guile, deceit, craftiness, or scheming. He was a man of peace among his fellow citizens and he was genuinely for others. These are the values of the Christ whom Marion served with deed more than creed.

In many ways Marion was Noah-type figure. Noah and Marion were both men of the soil, they were agriculturists, and the record is that both acted to preserve human life and all other living things. While Noah could not single-handedly stop the evils of his day, and thus avert great tragedy, he was not passive, he was not uninvolved. He built an ark of safety to preserve the human family and all other living things. The Scriptures say of Noah that he “found favor with God;” “he was a righteous man;” “he built an ark of safety;” and finally, “he built an altar to God.”

Marion’s ark included Greenville College. Coming from a modest home, Marion’s values fitted those of the Free Methodist Church and Greenville College. He learned well from his father-in-law (W.D. Cochran, a former Greenville Free Methodist Church minister and past chairman of the Greenville College board of trustees) that giving to the college was essential if the kind of young people who wanted to attend would have opportunity to do so. Hence, through the work and lives of the college’s alumni Marion has literally changed the world for the better, to preserve life and advance it.

Marion Jenner is given such homage and honor in our community because he lived a life that, as was said of Noah, was honest, peaceful and loving when these values were not so commonly practiced in the world. Truly, Marion was a man without guile, who was not piously righteous before his fellow citizens. He was always building arks of safety for family and community. He worshipped at the altar of God in Christ. Surely, Marion has found favor with God, and his influence among us will never cease.

Faculty in Memory

Dr. Elmer O. Danielson died Feb. 28, 2003 at age 83. He taught special education courses part-time for Greenville College in retirement. After serving in the air wing of the United States Navy during World War II, Danielson earned a doctorate in education and served as a school administrator. He dedicated his career to serving handicapped students. A native of California, Danielson headed special education programs in California at Sonoma High School and was director of special education for Solano County. Merced County, Calif., named a school in his honor.

Dr. Ivan J. Fahs died Jan. 5, 2003 at age 70. A former sociology professor at Greenville College, Fahs earned a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton (Ill.) College and received a master’s degree and doctorate from Cornell University. In addition to his tenure at Greenville, Fahs taught sociology at Bethel (Minn.) College before returning to Wheaton College for 20 years until his retirement in 2001. While in Minnesota, he was owner and operator of a medical and sociological research business. In addition to teaching, Fahs delighted in caring for the homeless. He conducted numerous trips to educate students about their plight.

Glenn L. Archer, Sr. Every person hopes to leave his mark on the world, to make a difference in some way. However, very few affect as many varied areas and groups as did Glenn Archer ‘27. From the plains of Kansas to the political arenas in Washington D.C. and courtrooms across America, Archer’s commitment to education, faith, and religious freedom marked literally thousands of lives.

But perhaps the greatest influence Archer had throughout his life was on Greenville College, first as a student and then as a board and committee member. To recognize his achievements, the college bestowed him with its highest honor, membership in the Distinguished Alumnus Honor Society.
Archer often told stories from his student days on campus. President Burritt, Archer recalled, told him that if he would serve as Proctor of the men’s dorm he would pay him “a glass of milk and bowl of oatmeal a day.” Archer accepted, and in doing so became an example of how hard GC students work to pay college bills.

Archer also loved to tell of his athletic exploits, especially his ability to throw a baseball well enough to attract major league scouts, but his father nixed that career because they “played baseball on Sunday.”
After graduation, he worked his way up in business, education and politics as if guided by an invisible hand. He soon married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Ford, and they went on to have two children, Glenn Jr. and Marilyn. Archer held a number of positions, including becoming assistant to the Kansas governor in 1939, but in 1945, he embarked on a career change and entered law school at Washburn University in Topeka.
Three years later, Archer took on one of his major life works in heading a group dedicated to championing religious liberty, democratic freedom and the first amendment principle relative to the separation of church and state.

However, throughout his career, Archer remained connected to his educational heritage at Greenville College. He served on the Board of Trustees from 1967 to 1972, the Business Affairs Committee and the Development & Long Range Planning Committee. His involvement spanned so many years that he personally knew seven of the first nine presidents. One of Archer’s proudest moments came when GC named a building after his grandparents, Cyrus and Elizabeth. Today, Archer Hall is home to the Alumni Office and Art Department.
Archer passed away in November, 2002. He is survived his two children, Glenn Archer Jr. and Marilyn Stutts, (wife Ruth recently passed away at the age of 96), their children and grandchildren.

Last updated: September 26, 2003