Class Notes

1954

Frank Selvy ’54 was among nine college basketball icons selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022. A two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year selection, three-time first team All-SoCon and All-America choice, including consensus All-America and United Press National Player of the Year pick in 1954, he was a first-round selection in the 1954 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. Selvy also made two NBA All-Star Teams over a nine-year professional career that was interrupted by three years of military service.

1975

Clyde Mayes ’75 was elected to the Southern Conference Hall of Fame, making him the eighth Paladin selection to the SoCon Hall of Fame since its inception in 2009 and second Furman basketball player, joining fellow All-American Frank Selvy ’54, a charter year inductee. Mayes was a three-time first team All-SoCon selection, three-time SoCon All-Tournament pick, two-time league Player of the Year choice and two-time league tournament MVP pick. He was named SoCon Athlete of the Year in 1975, was enshrined into South Carolina’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 and was recently named to the SoCon’s 100th Anniversary Team.

1977

L.D. Russell ’77, senior lecturer in religious studies at Elon University, received the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching. After teaching at Elon for the past 30 years, he will begin a two-year phased retirement beginning in Fall 2022.

1980

The Rev. Tony L. Moore ’80 published his first book, “Messages for All God’s Children,” a collection of presentation-ready Bible-based object lessons. He also announced his retirement effective Dec. 31, 2022, from First Baptist Church of Corunna, Michigan.

1981

Angela Walker Franklin ’81, the 15th president of Des Moines University and Furman’s 2021 Commencement speaker, was recognized by the Greater Des Moines Committee as a 2021 inductee to the Iowa Business Hall of Fame.

1986

Matthew W. Wilson ’86 was named the Barrett G. Haik Endowed Chair for the Department of Ophthalmology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and director of the Hamilton Eye Institute.

1991

Tracey Weldon-Stewart ’91 was appointed dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at the University of South Carolina after serving in the interim role.

1992

Sheri Olson Brotherton ’92 became a claims technical consultant with the auto division at American Family Insurance Claims Services in Madison, Wisconsin.

1993

Rashmi Bartlett ’93 was named inspector general at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

1994

Scott Barnstead ’94 earned a Doctorate of Education from the University of Georgia in May 2021. His dissertation is titled “Experienced Music Educators Use the Enneagram in Reflective Practice: A Qualitative, Collective Case Study.” He is the band director at Fannin County High School in Blue Ridge, Georgia. His wife, Julie ’94, teaches Spanish in the Dalton City School System.

1995

Jeffrey Sexton ’95 became senior director of maintenance and engineering for Dow Chemical’s largest European site in Terneuzen, Netherlands.

2000

Peter Kamm ’00 became a stockholder in the Tort & Insurance Litigation Department of the law firm Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A.

2008

Claire Marie Wolcott Stam ’08 was named director of the Addiction Research Center at Prisma Health, where she will play a key role in overseeing the development and execution of research and programmatic activity as it relates to addiction treatment, prevention and recovery.

Chris Smith ’08 became a postdoctoral affairs program administrator within the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation at Virginia Tech in January 2022. He will lead the creation of an Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to support Ph.D.-trained researchers across Virginia Tech.

2015

Dustin Magaziner ’15 was named CEO at PayBright, founded in 2021.

2020

Sam Hayes ’20 launched the nonprofit Upstate Preservation Trust to preserve historic spaces in the Upstate of South Carolina.

Miles H. Anderson ’20 graduated Navy bootcamp and was the No. 1 sailor in a class of 599 on May 6, 2022, at Naval Station Great Lakes.

Births & Adoptions

Elizabeth Stevenson Brenner ’08 and Aaron Brenner, William, Feb. 17, 2021
Sarah Clay Mardam-Bey ’08 and Sami Mardam-Bey, Walter Griffin, April 21, 2021
Jordan Rust ’13 and Catherine Robertson ’13, Piper, Aug. 1, 2021
Christina Henderson ’08 and Benjamin Wexler ’95, Cameron, Aug. 31, 2021

Marriages

Donna Cox ’96 and Frank Gerwig, July 1, 2021
Marion Martin ’00 and Mary Crisp ’09, Aug. 14, 2021
Arvid Tchivzhel ’08 and Elizabeth Murphy ’10, July 2, 2021
Andrew Wallin ’12 and Mattison Hammett ’12, Sept. 28, 2021
Jessica Pate ’13 and Lt. William Thibault, May 15, 2021
Juyun Kim ’15 and John Crawford ’15, Oct. 9, 2021
Megan Kelly ’16 and Samuel Zarei, Oct. 23, 2021
Chad Scott ’16 and Allie Biff ’16, April 17, 2021
William Bishop ’17 and Kayla Cartee ’17, Sept. 18, 2021
Jocelyn Boulware ’17 and Nicholas Bruce ’18, Sept. 25, 2021
Emma Zyriek ’17 and Hunter Rhodes, Aug. 1, 2021
Trenton Duncan ’18 and Katherine Splawn ’20, Jan. 15, 2022

Obituaries

Thomas Francis Bryan

1931 – 2022

LTC THOMAS F. BRYAN, former professor of military science, died on May 26, 2022, in Greenville, South Carolina. He joined Furman’s faculty in 1974. Furman President Gordon Blackwell praised his leadership in military science as “inspiring and energetic” and credited him for “sharp” program growth in a 1976 assessment sent to Army headquarters. The assessment also praised Bryan’s rapport with students, his contributions to their progress and his engagement with Furman colleagues. Bryan served for 25 years in the United States Army, serving in Korea and the Vietnam War. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Florida.

RICHARD OLOF SORENSEN

1932 – 2022

RICHARD OLOF SORENSEN, professor emeritus of art, died April 6, 2022, in Greenville, South Carolina. A foodie and a Francophile, Sorensen had a 29-year tenure at Furman, which included serving as department chair. He was a beloved professor who taught a variety of art history courses, many upper-level classes, art appreciation and a combined art, music and theatre arts appreciation course. In the studio, he taught painting, printmaking, drawing, design, graphic design and advertising design. Sorensen also helped to raise the funding for the Thomas Anderson Roe Art Building on the Furman campus. Sorensen was an active member of the Southern Graphics Council and Southeastern College Art Conference. A colleague recalled that Sorensen “was the only person I have ever met in my almost 50 years teaching art who could draw with both hands at the same time.”

JENNY LYNN COLVIN

1978 – 2022

JENNY LYNN COLVIN, associate director for outreach and access services librarian at Furman, died May 12, 2022, in Greenville, South Carolina. She joined the Furman community in 2006 and was deeply connected across campus, collaborating with many students and colleagues on a variety of initiatives. An expert in storytelling, she also taught in the university’s May Experience program and served as an academic advisor.

Melvin K. Younts ’50

1929 – 2022

Melvin Younts ’50, of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, died August 27, 2022. He was born in Durham, North Carolina, but spent almost his entire life in the Greenville area. Younts majored in political science at Furman and earned and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He opened the Younts Law Firm in Fountain Inn in 1952 with the help of a friend. The firm later became Younts Alford Brown & Goodson and opened a second office in Greenville shortly afterward. Younts represented the city of Fountain Inn for 50 years.

He purchased his first stock while a student at Furman, a decision that would lead him to become a successful investor. He was a prominent philanthropist in his later life and made gifts to Fountain Inn High School and institutions of higher learning throughout the area in support of educational, cultural and athletic programs. In 1972, Younts and his wife, Dollie, provided Furman’s first endowed football scholarship. Furman’s Younts Conference Center was named in honor of the couple’s generosity, and the couple also made significant gifts to the Paladin Plaza, Paladin Stadium, John E. Johns Hall and Timmons Arena.

Grace Hall Kleinschmidt ’46, March 25, 2022, Louisville, Ky.
Marilynn Hayes McLeod ’46, Oct. 28, 2021, Clio, S.C.
Edmund Cody ’47, Nov. 8, 2021, Helotes, Texas
Kathleen Hasty ’47, Nov. 16, 2021, Boone, N.C.
William Adams ’49, Jan. 27, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Ann Carpenter Gregg ’49, Dec. 7, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Joe Willis ’49, Jan. 3, 2022, Simpsonville, S.C.
Freida Gillespie Bybee ’50, Dec. 12, 2021, Brevard, N.C.
Barbara Burnett Haar ’50, Feb. 21, 2022, Spartanburg, S.C.
Palmer Fant ’50, Dec. 8, 2021, Independence, Va.
Donald Ferguson ’51, Feb. 12, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Mildred Freeland Finch ’51, Nov. 5, 2021, Seguin, Texas
Ray Ballew ’51, Oct. 24, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Ruth Borders Hendrix ’52, March 13, 2022, Amherst, Ohio
Florrie Lawton ’52, Jan. 30, 2022, Franklin, Tenn.
James Lovett ’52, March 24, 2022, Raleigh, N.C.
Roger Thompson ’52, Feb. 1, 2022, Hendersonville, N.C.
Stephen Arrington ’53, Nov. 27, 2021, Columbia, S.C.
Patty Kierce Gaylord ’53, Jan. 30, 2022, Lexington, S.C.
Martha Evitt Hammett ’53, Dec. 1, 2021, Columbia, S.C.
Elizabeth Johnson Mahon ’53, Jan. 17, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Doris Bass McLeod ’53, Nov. 16, 2021, Orlando, Fla.
Ruth Shockley Roof ’54, March 17, 2022, Union, S.C.
Martha Babb Poole ’54, Feb. 12, 2022, Raleigh, N.C.
Robert Poole ’54, Jan. 18, 2022, Raleigh, N.C.
Donny Wilder ’54, Nov. 2, 2021, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Lydia Berghauser Masters ’54, Sept. 1, 2021, Silver Spring, Md.
Thomas Brantley ’55, March 30, 2022, Waynesboro, Ga.
Thomas Payne ’55, Jan. 1, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Melvin Campbell ’55, Nov. 20, 2021, Clemson, S.C.
Agnes Smith Fitzgerald ’56, Aug. 24, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Charles Hutchins ’57, March 21, 2022, Greeneville, Tenn.
Darien George Pickens ’57, Feb. 27, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Samuel Horton ’57, Jan. 23, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Ruth Herman Bowers ’57, Dec. 11, 2021, Danvers, Mass.
Lila Scott Tyler ’57, Nov. 26, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Mary Welborn Barnwell ’58, Feb. 11, 2022, Columbia, S.C.
Joseph Camp ’58, Nov. 30, 2021, Pawleys Island, S.C.
Maurice DeFoor ’58, March 18, 2022, Seneca, S.C.
James Rampey ’58, Oct. 19, 2021, Lexington, S.C.
Barbara Abernethy Snyder ’58, Feb. 28, 2022, Burlington, N.C.
Donald Markofski ’59, March 5, 2022, Mooresville, N.C.
Ansel McGill ’59, Feb. 11, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
William Adams ’59, Jan. 29, 2022, Spartanburg, S.C.
Claire Jeffers Whorton ’59, Dec. 22, 2021, Cary, N.C.
Perry Williams ’59, Nov. 13, 2021, Easley, S.C.
Tony Arrington ’60, Feb. 21, 2022, Spartanburg, S.C.
Mary Wall Loftis ’60, Feb. 10, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Melba Sarvis Blanton ’60, Jan. 26, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Jack Duncan ’60, Jan. 19, 2022, Dickerson, Md.,
Ann-Eibs Hughes ’60, Jan. 6, 2022, Fountain Inn, S.C.
Douglas Pasley ’60, Dec. 10, 2021, Columbia, S.C.
Thomas Brannon ’60, Nov. 26, 2021, Columbia, S.C.
Gayle Sharp Powers ’60, Oct. 21, 2021, Spartanburg, S.C.
James Allen ’61, Jan. 26, 2022, Cary, N.C.
Herbert Huthmacher ’61, Feb. 3, 2022, Johns Island, S.C.
Robert Cloninger ’62, Feb. 1, 2022, Gastonia, N.C.
Gwendolyn Webb Dubose ’62, Dec. 24, 2021, Monetta, S.C.
Kenneth Crook ’62, Nov. 11, 2021, Greer, S.C.
Gaines Mason ’62, Oct. 15, 2021, Spartanburg, S.C.
Jane Altman Candiano ’63, Dec. 15, 2021, Connellsville, Pa.
Cletus Gilbert ’63, Oct. 5, 2021, Chesnee, S.C.
Bobby Byers ’64, Oct. 31, 2021, Spartanburg, S.C.
Robert Epling ’64, Feb. 23, 2022, Stewart, Fla.
Brian Moore ’64, Oct. 9, 2021, Kissimmee, Fla.
James Shirley ’65, Feb. 5, 2022, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
William Tallon ’65, Oct. 29, 2021, Nashville, Tenn.
Larry Duncan ’66, March 30, 2022, Greer, S.C.
Richard Harper ’66, Jan. 18, 2022, Simpsonville, S.C.
Ellen Tillotson Rogers ’66, Jan. 18, 2022, Taylors, S.C.
Carol McKee Hamilton Zehnacker ’66, Nov. 21, 2021, Frederick, Md.
Karen Suitt ’67, Jan. 10, 2022, Harrisburg, N.C.
Charles Atkinson ’67, Dec. 22, 2021, Atlanta, Ga.
William Yarborough ’67, Nov. 28, 2021, Greer, S.C.
Wanda Webb Schrader ’67, Nov. 8, 2021, Raleigh, N.C.
Charles Walters ’67, Nov. 2, 2021, Gainesville, Fla.
Barbara Mead ’67, Oct. 10, 2021, Charleston, S.C.
James Going ’68, Feb. 9, 2022, Sierra Vista, Ariz.
Virginia Allgood Farr ’68, Jan. 11, 2022, Inman, S.C.
Harold Warlick ’68, Oct. 20, 2021, High Point, N.C.
Carolyn McKinney Bowers ’69, March 7, 2022, Travelers Rest, S.C.
Joy Cox Harmon ’69, Dec. 3, 2021, Irmo, S.C.
Robert Atkinson ’72, Jan. 2, 2022, Easley, S.C.
Jane Bennett Stelling ’72, Nov. 15, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Michael Sanford ’73, Jan. 6, 2022, West Union, S.C.
Julius Aiken ’73, Dec. 26, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Maxine Looper Ledford ’73, Oct. 23, 2021, Marietta, S.C.
Earnest Hickerson ’74, Jan. 31, 2022, Nashville, Tenn.
Trudy Quinn ’74, Dec. 5, 2021, Rock Hill, S.C.
James Allen ’75, March 23, 2022, Pickens, S.C.
James Grier ’75, April 2, 2022, Rock Hill, S.C.
Robert Thompson ’75, Jan. 21, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Eugene Johnson ’76, Jan. 13, 2022, Columbus, Ohio
Carol Cline Stilwell ’77, Feb. 11, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Peter Schneider ’79, April 5, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
James Abney ’80, March 1, 2022, San Antonio, Texas
James Fox ’81, April 3, 2022, Travelers Rest, S.C.
James Allsopp ’81, Feb. 21, 2022, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Randall Converse ’81, Jan. 11, 2022, Greenville, S.C.
Paul Fitzgerald ’82, Sept. 20, 2021, Loudonville, N.Y.
Bennie Cox ’82, March 8, 2022, Anderson, S.C.
Charles Burns ’84, Jan. 3, 2022, Charlotte, N.C.
Brian Lovensheimer ’85, Jan. 12, 2022, Florence, S.C.
James Adair ’89, Nov. 9, 2021, Fort Mill, S.C.
Christopher Golden ’92, Oct. 8, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Valerie Van Nus ’02, Nov. 1, 2021, West Melbourne, Fla.
Grady Anthony ’10, April 8, 2021, Greenville, S.C.
Clare Grover ’12, Nov. 5, 2021, Nokomis, Fla.

About Class Notes

We welcome your submissions to Class Notes. Due to the amount of material Furman receives for this section – and the time needed to edit that material – items are often not published until six months after they are submitted. However, please be advised that we rarely publish items more than 18 months old and no announcements of things that have not yet occurred. When sending news of births, please include the parent name(s), child’s name, birthdate, and city of birth; for marriages, include the city and date of the event, the new spouse’s name, and his/her year of graduation if from Furman. News about couples who graduated from Furman in different years is listed under the earliest graduation date. It is not listed with both classes. Incomplete information for any of the above may result in the submission remaining unpublished. The magazine reserves the right to edit submissions.