Class Notes & Obituaries
Share your news...and catch up with friends. Class notes at the top of the page; obituaries can be found at the bottom.
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1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Obituaries
1940s
1950s
1960s
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Charlie Phillips, 1960Charlie was named the 2022 E&H Alumni Humanitarian of the Year in 2022. Read more…
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Stafford Stephenson, 1969Stafford and Tess Stephenson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 18, 2021, alongside their three daughters and their families.
Stafford is a retired insurance agent from State Farm Insurance. He played basketball for E&H, served as the color commentator for the High Point University men’s basketball team, and is honored to be in the Smyth County Sports Hall of Fame. Click here to read a fascinating article about a twist of fate during his days working at the University of Evansville.
1970s
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Rob Goldsmith, 1971Rob was named the E&H Alumni Humanitarian of the Year in 2021. Read more…
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Dr. Ken Noe, 1979Ken’s book The Howling Storm is the co-winner of the Colonel Richard W. Ulbrich Memorial Book Award from the U.S. Military History Group. It is a book about how Civil War battles were affected by weather. In 2020 he was recognized for creative research: https://ocm.auburn.edu/newsroom/news_articles/2020/12/161530-kenneth-noe.php
1980s
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Howard Chafin, 1983Howard has been awarded the Garland Thayer Award by People Incorporated. The Thayer Award honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to benefit low-income people through employment with an organization. He is the Children’s Programs Representative for Feeding Southwest Virginia. Read more…
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J.Sanders Henderson III, 1985Sanders ran for school board in the Jefferson District of Washington County in November 2021 and won his third term. He was elected to be the Chairman of the Board for 2022. He is working as a Special Assistant to Athletics Fundraising at Emory & Henry College.
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Trenda Johnson, 1987Trenda has worked in various positions within the Volvo Group, (Volvo Trucks, Mack trucks, Nissan Diesel, Volvo Bus, and now Volvo Penta.) She as worked on three continents (Asia, North America, and Europe). “I have worked for Volvo for 29 years, meeting and working with many great people.” She has lived In Gothenburg, Sweden for almost 20 years. “I miss the weather and mountains of Virginia but otherwise I love it here in Sweden. it is a beautiful and great country. I have enjoyed traveling around the world and enjoying new cultures. Moving to a new country when you are not young and learning to work and live in a new language is challenging and exciting.”
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Lisa Jordan, 1984Lisa was selected as the E&H Distinguished Alumna of the Year in 2021. Read more…
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William Perritt, 1985William married Kim Henderson August 6, 2021, in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Kim is a native of Western Colorado and manages retail operations for the Cortez Cultural Center. They share a home in Dolores, Colorado, overlooking the lake. William says they enjoy camping, hiking, and boating around the “stunning Four Corners area.” At home they “cook together and spend many evenings on the porch watching the sunset and the star-dappled night skies.”
William is employed with Fastmarkets RISI as a writer and editor, analyzing pulpwood, saw timber, and wood biomass markets. “I have held the job through its many gyrations over the past 27 years.” -
Rev. Phyllis Spiegel, 1988On April 30, 2022, Phyllis was named Bishop of Utah for the Episcopal Church. Read more…
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Mike Young, 1986Mike Young was selected as the E&H Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2022. Read more…
1990s
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Harold Craw, 1999Harold was named the 2020 E&H Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by the E&H Alumni Association. Read more…
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Joanna Harader, 1997Joanna has written a book of Advent devotions that will be published in 2022. It is called Expecting Emmanuel: Eight Women Who Prepared the Way. Find more information about it here: https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Emmanuel-Eight-Women-Prepared/dp/1513810553/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=ACDGP&pf_rd_p=5fe95cd4-8512-42fa-bf21-63d83b898785&pf_rd_r=XRJ6XX1CDK2C2TAMEE19&pd_rd_r=29decd8f-fc04-4cb7-b2f8-f55f33e5cf3f&pd_rd_wg=FNL8H&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m
Joanna serves as pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, KS. -
Cyndi Jennings, 1991Cyndi was selected for the 2022 E&H Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award. Read more…
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Will Mullins, 1992Will’s scripts The Manor and Fantasy Clash were both Honorable Mention winners in the long running Screenplay Festival script competition. His fantasy script The Madness of Winter was a Bronze Award winner at the LA Sci Fi & Horror Festival. Other scripts advanced in various competitions, including Scriptation Showcase, International Comedy Film Festival, the Screenwriting Master Contest, Lit Scares, So Cal Film Awards, and Culver City Film Festival.
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Kaylin Render, 1994The YWCA of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee has recognized Kaylin Render as one of their 2022 honorees – recognizing women who nurture, empower, and transform. Kaylin is an Assistant District Attorney for Sullivan County, TN, entering her 16th year with the Office of the District Attorney General for the 2nd Judicial District of Sullivan County, TN. She was also just tapped to be the Division Head in Division I of the Criminal Courts for Sullivan County. She prosecutes all the felony domestic violence cases ranging all the way from domestic assaults to first degree murder cases. She also works very closely with the Branch
2000s
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Mark Arrington, 2002Mark and Laura introduced a new baby girl to their family. Helen “Ellie” Virginia Arrington was born in 2021.
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Tommy Britt, 2002Tommy works at George Mason University, and attended Ohio University for graduate school. He has been promoted to Full Professor at George Mason University.
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Dr. Eric Coley, 2004Eric was named the 2022 E&H Outstanding Faculty Member by the E&H Alumni Association. Read more…
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Chaplain Ryan Davenport, 2008
Ryan moved to San Antonio in April 202,2 and is an Air Force Chaplain for Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base
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Will Gibbons, 2003Will was recently appointed Dean of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Crane is one of the oldest and most prestigious music programs in the US, and trains approximately half of all music teachers in New York state.
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Kishanna Heyward, 2008Kishanna was selected as the 2021 E&H Young Alumna of the Year. Read more…
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Lori Hutton, 2008Lori is serving as the assistant principal at Marion Senior High School. She recently was awarded the Smyth County School Board award for “Mover of Mountains.” They just started a reward system for cafeteria staff, bus drivers, and any staff member “who has good attendance, makes a difference in students’ lives every day, goes above and beyond the call of duty, has good staff relations, good job performance, and is a difference maker.” The Board voted on 13 nominations.
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Bobbie Larkin, 2003Bobbie was named for the 2020 Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award by the E&H Alumni Association. Read more…
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Israel O’Quinn, 2002In May of 2022, Israel was named by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce as the Legislator of the Year.
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D.W. Saur, 2005D.W.’s fourth book titled Just Friends was released in December 2021. His YA Fantasy novel Dark Days finished the 2021 award season with its sixth award coming from the American Fiction Awards in the Epic/High Fantasy category. Learn more at his website: https://dwsaur.com/
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Kris Sheets, 2002Kris was named the 2020 E&H Alumni Humanitarian of the Year. Read more…
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Josh Stamper, 2007Josh was selected as the 2020 E&H Young Alumnus of the Year by the E&H Alumni Association. Read more…
2010s
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Jessica Callahan, 2011Jessica and Stephen Callahan were chosen as the 2022 E&H Young Alumni of the Year. Read more…
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Stephen Callahan, 2011Jessica and Stephen Callahan were chosen as the 2022 E&H Young Alumni of the Year. Read more…
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Andrew Downard, 2014
Andrew as been promoted to Supervisor of Remittance Processing at Navy Federal Credit Union.
He is pursuing an MBA degree at Mount Saint Mary’s.
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Matthew Wilkinson, 2013
Matthew is the Planning & Codes Liaison for the Metropolitan Council of Nashville & Davidson County.
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Jenna Wygal, 2016Jenna is currently getting a Master of Science in Information and Library Science through the University at Buffalo. She is working as a Senior Library Assistant in Rochester, NY, and will be promoted to Collection Development Librarian in the Spring of 2022. She married Jonathan Wygal (E&H Class of 2018) in the summer of 2020. “We just adopted an Irish Setter named Murphy to round out the family.”
2020s
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Sydney McKinney, 2020In the spring of 2022, Sydney was named head women’s basketball coach at John Battle High School. Here’s a story on the Bristol Herald Courier page: https://heraldcourier.com/sports/sydney-mckinney-named-girls-basketball-coach-at-john-battle/article_b4ffceae-ca6a-11ec-a540-4f3b7b87a873.html
