1965
ROBERTA ROBEY WARREN, Whittier, NC, has recently moved to the mountains of western North Carolina to be near her daughter and family.

1974
GLORIA SIMMONS, Clarksburg, WV, has returned to West Virginia after 30 years in California. She and her partner are building a house on 123 acres in Ritchie County, near the Simmons family ancestral home.

1978
JOHN W. STEPHENSON, Knoxville, TN, graduated from law school in May 2004, and was admitted to the bar in a ceremony before the Tennessee Supreme Court.

1983
RENATO P. MINARD, Philadelphia, PA, sends greeting to his classmates and reports that his daughter, Nia is in her first year of college at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and his son, Justin, is a high school senior.

1984
DAVID A. REISMAN, Austin, TX, has been appointed as executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission. He formerly served in the administration of President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the U. S. Army. David and his wife, Heather would like to announce the birth of their first child, Adam Eli, on December 10, 2004.

1991
AMY COX, Dayton, OH, was united in marriage to Michael DeBorde, on December 31, 2004. Alumni in attendence were BETH ANN ELSON ESPOSITO ’91 and MIKE KELLER MARTIN ’92. Amy is a probation officer in Dayton.

1993
DAVID KLEBE, Mechanicsburg, PA, and his wife, Helen, announce the birth of their son, Alexander Peter, on December 20, 2004.

1998
KRISTEN HOLMBERG (see photo left - click to enlarge), Annapolis, MD, was united in marriage to George Pollock, on July 24, 2004. Alumni in attendence were LAURA HOLOSKI SUPERCZYNSKI ’97, JENNIFER JOHNSON TRIBINO ’97, KIMBERLY HOOVER SAYRE ’97, and SARAH MELBY ’97. Kristen received a master’s degree in special education from Southern Connecticut State University in 2000. She is a special education pre-k teacher for Anne Arundel County public schools in Annapolis.
* ANDREA MORRIS EHMEN, Orland Hills, IL, and her husband, Bradley, announce the birth of their daughter, Katherine Athena, on February 2, 2005.

2000
KATIE L. HOFFMAN, Charleston, WV, received her Juris Doctorate from West Virginia University School of Law in May 2004. She is now practicing law as an associate with a firm in Charleston.

2001
AMY MCANARNEY and JUSTIN ROGOSKY, Harrodsburg, KY, were united in marriage on October 16, 2004. Alumni in attendence were JONATHAN ANDREW ’99, LEANN PEGGS ANDREW ’96, PHILLIP AUSTIN ’01, LAURA FANTONE BACA ’02, JAIME BAILE ’00, SCOTT BROWN ’01, DAVID BROWN ’99, AMBER CAMPBELL ’01, STEPHEN HOUCK ’01, REBECCA PRUSAKOWSKI ’03, JONATHAN ROGOSKY ’05, MARK SUTYAK ’02, ANDREA MOORE SUTYAK ’02, TODD VINCENT ’01, and ROBIN SHUGARTS VINCENT ’02.

2002
SCOTT W. HARRIS, Elkins, WV, was united in marriage to Christina D. Shannon, on August 7, 2004. Scott is the son of PHILIP HARRIS ’74 and Ann Harris of Elkins. CURTIS HARRIS ’04, brother of the bridegroom, served as best man. Alumni in attendance were AMON MARSTILLER ’99, and JEFFREY DEEMS ’00.

2004
VERA PAWLOWSKI, State College, PA, is working on her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Penn State.


Valentine's Day Couples

In the February issue of the OrangeLine Online, we asked alumni to tell us about their stories of meeting and falling in love on the Wesleyan campus. We published your responses in the February issue and created a special Valentine's Day OrangeLine because of the tremendous replies. In this March issue, we conclude the series and thank you - the alumni, for your participation.

From the options listed below, please select the decade which you would like to view:

1940's
Ed Crow ‘49 and Carol Stalnaker Crow ‘51
LaFayette Hill, Pennsylvania

I was a lowly freshman and Ed was an upper classman and Navy veteran of World War II. Our first date was to see a Play Shop production of “Lost Horizons.” He was a business major and we had the best seat in the house. I had a miserable runny nose and head cold and just knew he would never take such a snifflely girl out again. But he did, and we married on Palm Sunday 55 years ago. I always told him that night he found his horizon. Ed still likes to introduce me to colleagues as his first wife. Our feelings for each other are expressed in one of my poems published in 1998 in “A Celebration of Poets” by the International Library of Poetry:

UNTITLED
What matters the ticking clock
-- the seasons passing?
Who cares if busy times accrue
to turn aside – a moment?
Why worry in the rain?
Or ponder past or future?
- the time is now
-Our love is new,
though tested by the years
-- and tears.

Howard W. Brown '49 and Mary Hurst Brown
Sun City, California

During the summer of 1949, the Kappa Alpha Fraternity House was closed, so my roommate, Ed Knight and I rented a room at a boarding house across the street from Wesleyan’s campus. One sunny afternoon, as I was sitting on the front porch of the boarding house by myself, I saw this beautiful blonde-haired young woman walking across the campus. I had never seen her before. As I watched her walk across the campus, I had this feeling--like it says in the song--"Some Enchanted evening, you may see a stranger across the crowded room, and some how you know that you will see her again...."

I saw her again on the porch of Agnes Hall Dorm and then at the swimming pool the next day. I said to my friend, Bob Hermann, "I saw that girl walk across the campus yesterday." "Go and talk to her, Howie!" Bob said. I did, and we made a date to go to the movie that night. Next day we walked around the campus together and became better acquainted. There was a sundial in a central location on the campus and I took a picture of Mary and was inspired to write a poem, entitled: "Mary By the Sundial Standing"

Mary by the sundial standing,
Will I see that smile in years to come?
Am I to feel the gentle hand, watch the kind compassioned mother
That promises to flower from that sweet face?
Mary by the sundial standing,
How confident you seem
That life can be victorious
Through love!

Her name was Mary Hurst. She was attending a seminar at Wesleyan. We attended a couple of worship services on campus together--one of them led by the great Methodist evangelist, Harry Denman. Mary finished the seminar she was attending and went back to Charleston, W.Va., where she worked as secretary to the president of the Kuhn Construction Company. Amazingly, Ed Knight's father was the purchasing agent for the Kuhn Construction Company where Mary worked. We were married the day before Thanksgiving that year, with Ed Knight and Bob Hermann ’50 standing with me. We celebrated 55 years of marriage last November 23, 2004.

1950's
Adva Runnels Volle and Robert Volle ‘53
Salada, Texas

Adva Jean Runnels and I were married in the First Baptist Church of Gulfport, MS on September 7, 1952.

I was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS, as an instructor of Airborne Electronics. One night, early in April, a friend of mine returned to the barracks and informed us cheerfully that he was "born again,” a concept alien to me. Gorden had attended a revival meeting in Gulfport and wanted me to attend services with him the next day. As you can imagine, it was interesting for me, a boy from the industrial north and a traditional religious background to attend a revival meeting. I struggled during the entire session with some discomfort. But, I noticed a beautiful young lady in the choir and was determined to meet her. It took me a month or more.

She happened to be home from Mississippi Southern College on that night and sang in the choir. I had to wait for the end of the semester. In the meantime, I looked for her at every Wednesday and Sunday Worship Service. When we did meet, I was disappointed to know that she was unimpressed with my first impression. All of that changed and so did our plans when the Air Force placed me on orders for assignment in Okinawa. I did not want to leave her for two years and face all of that uncertainty. We married. However, in ways somewhat mysterious, the Air Force sent me on temporary duty to Buckhannon to complete a final semester of study. I had qualified for Operation Bootstrap, a program designed to encourage the enlisted ranks to complete college. Thus, Adva and I arrived in Buckhannon early in September for that last semester of undergraduate work. We spent our honeymoon in West Virginia living in primitive housing on the campus. Adva loves the mountains, the fall foliage and the snow. She has fond memories of the Homecoming Dance, serenades by the brothers of Theta Chi, picnics on the mountaintops and hayrides.

As you might expect, all of this was life transforming. After 54 years together, we have five adult children, seven grandchildren and a loving family. She is more beautiful than ever; I am still tall.

Notes: Operation Bootstrap was part of an effort to raise the level of education among the enlisted ranks. During my time at Keesler, I took off-campus courses in mathematics, psychology, etc from the University of Mississippi and had the equivalent of seven semesters of work.

The last I heard of Gorden Hunter was from the Pacific where he and his wife were missionaries. His religious experience was enduring.

Don Taylor ’53 and Bette Taylor
Elizabeth, Pennsylvania

I attended Wesleyan from 1949-1953, but my wife did not attend the College. There is a romantic connection between us regarding Wesleyan and she has Wesleyan in her heart as a result.

It was Homecoming 1956 and I was returning with my fiancée. The campus with its Georgian architecture was beautiful, spotlights illuminated the white Ionic columns and the trees in late October were resplendent in their autumn foliage. The pretty young female visitor was in the lobby of Agnes Howard. I had excused myself to meet with some friends. A friendly coed introduced herself (the college prides itself on its congenial atmosphere) and informed the guest that the campus was buzzing with news that a Wesleyan tradition was to take place that evening -- a serenade of a sweetheart by Theta Chi (I am a founder of Delta Gamma Chapter.) The visitor replied that her beau had told her of the romantic tradition and that she wished they could stay to see it but they probably would have to depart before it took place.

The coed explained that the girl to be serenaded would stand at the window. "Come," she said, "and I'll show you." "She'll stand here with the window open and the fraternity will march through the oak grove and form a semi-circle outside the window." "Here is the corsage she will wear and the bouquet of flowers she will hold. Aren't they lovely? This is so exciting! All the dorm windows on this side will be crowded with spectators!"
"It sounds so wonderful and sentimental, but when he gets back we'll have to leave."
"I think you had better stay," the coed replied. "The serenade is for you!" she said placing the bouquet into the hands of the surprised guest!

Meantime, the 40 Theta Chi’s had crossed the street from their house and made the trek through the falling leaves of the oak grove singing their song, "It Is to Thee Dear Old Theta Chi." The ensemble gathered outside the casement and the woman smiled knowingly at the face of her fiancée. As Marshal of Theta Chi I had arranged serenades for others but none so special as this gift to my beloved. A fraternity brother, Graham Kenneweg, sang "Tenderly" as the finale with the autumn leaves drifting down.
Nearly 50 years have passed since that memorable evening and we shall soon celebrate our golden anniversary.

It was an autumn evening at Wesleyan we shall never forget. For my wife, Bette Lou, Wesleyan is precious and we have since attended various meetings, Homecomings, and reunions together for that beautiful occasion has made Wesleyan a part of her always.

Arthur Swarthout ’54 and Elizabeth (Betty) Lindsay Swarthout ‘56
Lake Junaluska, North Carolina

In 1953, I transferred to Wesleyan for my sophomore year. Art was a senior. We first met casually at a retreat where Art was one of the leaders. Leadership teams went into small churches to work with the youth. We were both on the yearbook committee that fall.

Each fall Wesleyan had a Sadie Hawkins Day (based on the Lil Abner comic strip). The women students asked the men for dates. Campus groups built Dog Patch and there were all kinds of group games. Then the Daisy Mae chased Lil Abner as was always happening in the comic strip. The day was followed by a dance. The women picked up their dates (the only time the women were to be seen at the men’s dorms!) I remember the corsage for Art was made from holly berry leaves.

I intended to avoid involvement but friends (thanks to Miss Nellie Wilson, Dean of Women) cornered me at a desk and proceeded to dictate a letter to Art. I wrote it on a small brown paper bag using colored pencils. I promised to mail the letter, but my friends would not let me do the mailing. They knew it would not be mailed! Art still has the bag!

The next week was Thanksgiving break and I was riding to Pennsylvania with Professor McAllester. When I was picked up for the trip, Art was in the car to travel to his home in Ithaca, NY. We dated the remainder of the year. Art graduated in May 1954 and went to Garrett Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL. He returned that fall for homecoming, and gave me his fraternity pin. Art was one of the founders and first President of Phi Sigma Epsilon. I became the first to be pinned to a member of that fraternity.

I graduated in January 1956 and moved to Elgin, IL to work as a dietitian for a Food and Nutrition Council research project on vitamin E. We were married in West Decatur, PA in 1957 and returned to Belvedere, IL where I was the Boone County Home Demonstration agent and Art continued his seminary degree. And the story continues. We have three grown children and twin granddaughters. Years later Art returned to Wesleyan as a faculty member and we bought our first home on Florida Street. On August 23, 2005, we will be married 48 years.

We are retired and reside in Lake Junaluska, NC. I am currently President of the Waynesville District United Methodist Women, and we both are busy volunteers in church and community.

Tod Torrence ’59 and Pat Wentworth Torrence ‘60
Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Tod and I met in Dr. Glauner’ history class. This was back when women wore skirts to class, imagine that!!!!!! I had come to class with the side button closed but the zipper was down and Tod took note of that. The next semester he transferred to WVU and the semester after that I transferred to UNH. Needless to say, we both made our way back to Wesleyan. We have been married 46 years. We live in Berkeley Heights, NJ. We have three children. I spent my working years in corporate America as well as teaching elementary school. Tod retired from his own business.

1960's
Al Taylor ’61 and Diane Taylor
Dallas, Texas

On March 10, 1995, I was flying back to Dallas from New Jersey after a long week of business meetings. Upon arriving in Dallas, I checked my phone messages, and I had a message to join a friend named Art at a popular nightclub for a beverage. After a week of business meetings I was drained and not in the mood to go out. However, after I talked to Art, he encouraged me to go to this popular nightclub called Sipangos. Art said Sipangos was very popular with single women on Friday night and it would liven me up.

When I arrived at Sipangos, Art was talking to two women who arrived just five minutes prior to me. Art immediately introduced me and the fatigue from a week of meetings was gone. One of the women named Diane was an instant connection for me. She had recently moved to Dallas from Atlanta and had not planned to go out this evening. However, her friend and co-worker named Denise encouraged Diane to go out and get acquainted with Dallas. Art spent the evening talking and dancing with Denise and I did the same with Diane. It was an evening I will never forget. It was so much fun getting to know Diane. At the end of the evening, I asked Diane for her phone number so we could have a date in the near future.

It was not long until I knew Diane was the love of my life. On May 17, 1997, I married the beautiful and talented Diane. On March 10, 2005, we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of our meeting at Sipangos. This will be a very special celebration because Sipangos will close March 31, to make way for a new business. Although Sipangos will close soon, Diane and I will continue to celebrate our love forever.

Jack Burry and Sylvia Holden Burry ’68
Clermont, Florida

I came to Wesleyan in 1949 on a library workship. I loved the College, but in 1950 I transferred to the State University of New York in Canton, NY to be closer to home. I graduated from there in 1952 with an associate degree in home economics.

I met my husband Jack, of 52 years, at St. Lawrence University in Canton, where I took a couple of my courses. We were married in May when he graduated in 1952. We have seven children.

In 1968, when our youngest was only two weeks old, I returned to Wesleyan to finish my bachelor’s degree. With the support and advice of Dean Sam Ross (who was in my freshman class), I was able to transfer credits and take 24 more credits in residence during summer school to complete requirements for my Wesleyan B.S. in 1968. I then earned my master’s degree from Framingham State in Massachusetts in 1970. All this was possible with Jack’s support.

Our oldest daughter, Susan, met her husband John Adams, at Wesleyan and they were married at the Lutheran Church the day before their graduation in May 1976.

We have 15 grandchildren, some of whom we hope will continue the Wesleyan tradition.

1970's
Donald Sinclair ’78 and Melanee Wigton Sinclair ‘79
Wheeling, West Virginia

Donald and I met when I was a freshman and he was a junior. We met because I was involved with one of his friends. We became best friends, and spent a lot of time commiserating together. We would go out to eat; I would hang out in the radio station where he worked. He graduated in 1978, and took a job in Clarksburg, but continued living in Buckhannon. I graduated the following year in 1979 and moved to Wheeling. Donald had in the meantime moved back to Wheeling, his hometown.

We both eventually figured out that perhaps we should spend the rest of our lives with the one person who had been there to see it all...the one person who knew our good and bad sides...our best friend.

We were married December 29, 1979 at the small chapel of WVWC. Michael Ognibene ’77 performed the ceremony. It was his first wedding ceremony! Leslie Morris ‘80 was our maid of honor.

Donald and I live in Wheeling. We have a 23-year old son. I am an assistant professor at Bethany College. Donald has a law firm located in Pittsburgh. He specializes in occupational disease defense. He speaks and teaches around the country on medical expert testimony, railroad injury, admissibility of expert testimony, and communications law.

Steven Tuell ’78 and Wendy Rohan Tuell ‘78
Ashland, Virginia

Steve and I were friends during our four years at Wesleyan. It's a wonderful way to begin a marriage, but we didn't have any idea that is where we were heading. I remember seeing Steve for the first time at a Friday night Christian fellowship meeting. He was sitting in an armchair, legs folded under him, explaining that he had feared not meeting other Christians, that he had been concerned he would sit alone in his dorm room and not find the fellowship he needed. Instead, here were dozens of like-minded students sharing our faith.

We did not have a romance at Wesleyan. We were good friends and spent time with a group of classmates. Several of them got married during and after our senior year; we sang, stood up at, and attended the same weddings. When Bruce Merritt and Glenda Looman were married on May 27, 1978, we sang a duet called "Wedding Prayer," written just for the occasion. Our friend Cathy McIntyre had written the words shortly before her own wedding. For Bruce and Glenda's wedding, she put her poem to music for Steve and me to sing.

After graduation, Steve worked on his master of divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary, just 50 miles from my parents' home in New Jersey, and I was hired at Fairmont State College, 100 miles from his home in Parkersburg. As a result, we stayed in touch, and our relationship blossomed. When we realized we were absolutely bonkers about each other and wanted to get married, it had been more than two years since we had seen many Wesleyan friends, so we wrote informal engagement announcements. One of these went to Dr. Thaddeus Gurdak, asking if he would marry us. I'll never forget his return note. "After I recovered from my myocardial infarction..." it began. He had known Steve and me from such different places, he had never thought of us even as friends. He was willing to counsel us and perform the ceremony--a Presbyterian girl and a United Methodist minister married by an Episcopal priest in the Assemblies of God Church I was attending in Fairmont!

As music has always been a mutual interest, we decided to sing to each other at our wedding. The song choice was easy: Cathy's "Wedding Prayer". It begins, "Lord, we offer our lives into your hands, that you as master designer may mold us into one...." Three years and three days after we had sung for Bruce and Glenda, we sang for ourselves. You see, Cathy had told me way back at Wesleyan, "You have my permission to sing this when you two get married, too."

What an adventure we have had together, being best friends, spouses and parents to three wonderful boys as well. We thank God for bringing us together, and for the lifelong friendships we found at West Virginia Wesleyan. We are thrilled that our oldest son Sean is a part of this year's freshman class. Wesleyan will always hold a warm space in our hearts.

1990's
Don Stemple and Jill Simmons Stemple ‘93
Buckhannon, WV

My husband and I met during my freshman year at Wesleyan. We met in a store called Heck's. Don was working in the electronics department and my friend and I had gone
to the store to look for a cassette single. Don asked if he could be of assistance and we struck up a conversation. Every time I went to the store we spoke to each other. One day the store was giving away a truck. I filled out an entry card and I accidentally lost it (although if you asked Don, he would tell you I lost it on purpose). Don was restacking oil one day and he found that entry card! It had my phone number on it.

He called me and asked me to go to dinner and see a movie. I told him not until finals were over! Our first date was on December 9, 1989. We became friends and I knew I was falling in love when Don showed up at my door one day with a stack of Beatrix Potter books. That was a welcomed sight because I was working on a children's literature project.

Don moved up the ladder quickly in his work and soon left the state to manage and set up other stores. He drove 10 1/2 hours to see me on weekends. We also made AT & T happy with all the phone bills! We had accumulated a $700 phone bill. We dated four years and were married on August 7, 1993 following my May graduation. We have been married over 11 years now and renew our wedding vows every five years. Our jobs took us away for a couple of years but a company initiated transfer landed us back in Buckhannon. Don's career moved in another direction and he is now the Sergeant for the Upshur Co. Sheriff Department. I am teaching with Upshur County Schools. We feel very blessed that God brought us together and we cherish our family and friends in our "home among the hills."

2000's
Jason Markle and Brooke Seelos Markle ‘02
Hershey, Pennsylvania

Jason and I met the second day of our freshman year in front of Wesley Chapel. We were introduced by roommates who shared freshman seminar classes, and we all soon became an inseparable group. My roommate and I dubbed the three guys "the three amigos" and when Jason and I started dating, I explained to my parents in New York that I was dating one of the "amigos" to ease their minds (they had heard much about these boys). Freshman year was a blur as Jason and I dated, separated, and discovered that we were wasting time not being a couple. We were together so much that even when we were not dating, everyone assumed that we were.

We spent the summer apart, though we burned up the phone lines between our homes. I was heartbroken to learn that Jason was planning to transfer schools and that he may not return to Wesleyan for our sophomore year. I was told later he returned for one last semester because I asked him to, but it was not until he left Wesleyan for good that I realized the strength of our bond. We began dating long-distance as Jason started classes at home in York, PA and I stayed in West Virginia.

Jason "shirted" me with his Theta Xi jersey our junior year while I was away interning in Washington D.C. It was wonderful to return to campus feeling as if his family had become my own as well. Through the support of my sisters of Alpha Gamma Delta and the watchful "big brother" eyes of Jason's Theta Xi fraternity brothers, it became well-known around campus that Jason and I were working toward a lifetime commitment to each other. I felt that I had 30 guys watching out for me when Jason could not be there, and many of my sisters claimed they wanted to find a man "just like Jason." Jason was even named our unofficial "Gam Man" - a first for our sorority.

Jason and I were engaged over Thanksgiving break of my senior year, and I was the only one in my apartment to be surprised. I learned that my sorority sisters had been having "diamond chats" with Jason without my knowing it! Even though we were still apart in distance, Jason made every effort to be there for everything I was experiencing - my nomination for Homecoming Queen, Greek Week, Spring Sing and finally graduation.

We were married on May 15, 2004 in my hometown of Livonia, NY. My maid of honor and one of my attendants were both my sorority sisters from Wesleyan and there was an attendance of 15-plus Wesleyan alumni at our wedding. It meant a lot to both of us that our friends who supported us during our courtship came to witness our union as husband and wife. Neither Jason nor I expected to find our spouse in college, but we believe that fate brought us together that humid August day in 1998. We are both thankful we chose the rolling hills of West Virginia as the transition place between the teenage years and adulthood and we believe that if it were not for Wesleyan, we may never have found each other. We have a framed picture of Wesley Chapel hanging in our home to serve as a constant reminder of the place we met and the moment our lives changed forever.