50th Anniversary Celebration, GBH School of Nursing

Class of 1962

October 19-20, 2012

The Annual Alumni Day Luncheon for the College of Nursing on October 19 was a big one for Brenda and her classmates of the class of 1962 since it was the 50th Anniversary of their graduation. Brenda had worked hard to encourage a good turnout of her classmates with the able help of Edie Robinson Fox and Genie Hancock Coats. As always Jenny McCurdy was great to help with the process. We were pleased to have a large turnout of members of the Class of 1962. We had 32 class members present for the luncheon and the pictures shown below. In the evening we had two additional class members Gail Franklin Meeson and Sue Crowe Warlick.

Front row, L-R: Brenda Duncan Nave, Mildred Kendrick Smith, Beth Pullen Holder,Valjean Brown Aycock, Kay Richards Smith , Doris Ann Wilson Costner, Joann Brewer Yates,Beverly Williams Good , Lynda Pursley Jones
Back row: Genie Hancock Coats, Frankie Tompkins Stuart,Madeline Clifton Love, Edie Robinson Fox, Betty McCannon Jones, Kaye Burnham Smith, Sonja Ray West, Joyce Portwood Tribble, Julienne Guerry Harmon, Nelda Harmon Floyd, Edith Durden Walker, Bobbie Kroenke Jackson, Pam Gladden Reynolds, Carol Jones Huffman, Anne Newton, Harriet Huff Burel, Ginger Malcom Chesser.

Front row, L-R: Mildred Kendrick Smith, Beth Pullen Holder,Valjean Brown Aycock, Kay Richards Smith, Doris Ann Wilson Costner, Joann Brewer Yates, Beverly Williams Good , Lynda Pursley Jones, Bobbie Haynes Torok.
Back row: Madeline Clifton Love, Edie Robinson Fox, Betty McCannon Jones, Kaye Burnham Smith, Sonja Ray West, Joyce Portwood Tribble, Julienne Guerry Harmon, Nelda Harmon Floyd, Edith Durden Walker, Bobbie Kroenke Jackson, Pam Gladden Reynolds, Carol Jones Huffman, Anne Newton, Harriet Huff Burel, Ginger Malcom Chesser, Dixie Gardner Tyson, Gloria Gaskins Ferrell, Ann Woods Maxwell, Angie Morris, Patsy Crumley Seagraves.

The time of gathering for the luncheon was a joyous time of greeting. We were delighted to get Jean Lovell there for this celebration. She is greeted by Ann Woods Maxwell and Valjean Brown Aycock.

Jean gets an enthusiastic greeting from Sonja Ray West, Ginger Malcom Chesser and Ann Woods Maxwell.

Bobbie Kroenke Jackson, Brenda Duncan Nave and Joann Brewer Yates get together.

Johnnie Forgay arrives with daughter Diane and is greeted by Sonja Ray West and ?

Mildred Kendrick Smith and Genie Hancock Coats left, Jean Lovell and Carol Jones Huffman on right.

At noon they opened the doors to let us into the nicely decorated dining room. Brenda led the prayer to get things started.

We had a good time of fellowship around the tables. Clockwise from left: Ann Woods Maxwell, Ginger Malcom Chesser, Harriet Huff Burel, Edith Durden Walker's husband. Julienne Guerry Harmon greets Beth Pullen Holder. Kay Richards Smith and Genie Hancock Coats on near side.

We had a musical program by the women's chorale from Mercer and celebrated the 110th anniversary of the School of Nursing with a cake.

We were very proud to see Johnnie Forgay receive the Distinguished Alumna Award from Dean Linda Streit and Alumni Board President Dee Keeton. This is the highest award given by the College of Nursing to Alumnai. Johnnie is a 1946 graduate of the GBH School of Nursing. She was praised for having started a number of patient-focused programs under the Department of Community Services - some of the earliest programs of their type.

Brenda, who received the Distinguished Alumna Award last year, was a part of Johnnie's team in discharge planning as far back as 1977. Johnnie had received the Hall of Honor award for Mentoring back in 2009. We had gotten together with her for Alumni Day back in 1992 as well.

The other major award, the Edna Earle Teal Award, was made to Doris Ann Wilson Costner, a member of the 1962 class. Given the missionary background of Edna Earle Teal, this award seemed particularly appropriate given Doris' missionary service in Zambia, Africa. She did nursing and teaching there for nine years. Brenda received the Teal award in 1988.

1962 Graduates inducted into Hall of Honor Three 1962 graduates were inducted into the Hall of Honor: Nelda Harmon Floyd was inducted for Excellence in Clinical Nursing Practice (above left). Bobbie Haynes Torok was inducted for Excellence in Clinical Nursing Practice (above right). Valjean Brown Aycock was inducted for Excellence in Mentoring (right).

We were proud to see dear friend and longtime colleage of Brenda, Debbie Miller, be inducted into the Hall of Honor for Excellence in Clinical Practice. Brenda worked with Debbie and Johnnie Forgay in Discharge Planning back as far as 1977. It was good to get the three of them together again below, 35 years later. One of the things we look forward to in coming to Alumni Day is seeing these dear friends, as we did when Johnnie was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2009, cheered on by Brenda, Debbie and Mary. They also got together in 2011 when Brenda received the Distinguished Alumni Award.

The members of the 50th Year Celebration, Class of 1962, were asked to stand, and with 32 of them, it was quite a group. Each was given a 50-Year Certificate, and Jenny McCurdy commented that she thought it was the largest group for a 50-year celebration that they had had.

We felt privileged to have three of the class mentors with us for this special anniversary. Evelyn Joiner, back left, was one of the Tift Faculty and taught English. She was also one of the advisors for The Hypo. Front left is Jean Lovell, who was Student Counselor and worked with the BSU and other activities. Bob Zwald was Assistant Administrator and also one of the advisors for the Hypo. In general, we remember all three as great friends of the students.

Along with these mentors are, back row: Frankie Tompkins Stuart, Madeline Clifton Love, Edie Robinson Fox, Betty McCannon Jones and Kaye Burnham Smith. Front row: Mildred Kendrick Smith and Beth Pullen Holder. The group pictures for the whole group of 1962 graduates are at the top.

Peggy Cooper celebrates with Cathy Bryant Harbin, friend and 1972 classmate, who was inducted into the Hall of Honor for Excellence in Health Care Administration. Peggy is a great friend with whom Brenda has worked on 5 Tower and in Continuity of Care. We saw her at the 2009 Alumni Day and she honored us with her presence on our 50th Anniversary.

After the luncheon, the whole room was buzzing with conversations as people grouped up to talk. At left, Brenda, Edie Robinson Fox, Sonja Ray West and Valjean Brown Aycock. At right Frankie Tompkins Stuart, Bobbie Kroenke Jackson and Anne Newton.

Five members of the September Class, 1962, get together. Brenda, Beverly Williams Good, Frankie Tompkins Stuart, Bobbie Kroenke Jackson, Genie Hancock Coats.

We were delighted to see Mrs. Eleanor Verdery, who with her late husband Dr. Gus Verdery are treasured friends dating back to the early 1970s. Gus, as head of the chaplaincy program at GBH was a comforting counselor to us at the time of Brenda's cancer diagnosis in 1977.

Brenda, Frankie and Bobbie had another time to get together at our evening banquet for the 1962 graduating class. We did a slideshow and reminisced about the time in nursing school. It was a great time of fellowship.

Frankie surely had the longest odyssey to get to this reunion, having driven across the country from the Oregon coast to New England, and then down through Virginia to pick up daughter Lydia and her three grandchildren.

We had spent a lot of time with Frankie and Mike when Lydia was a baby, but had not seen her since and had not met the grandchildren. It was a treat to meet the family.

We are inclined to give to Madeline "Lynn" Clifton Love the award for having most graciously managed the passage of 50 years of time! Some of us were easy to recognize after 50 years, some of us not. But Lynn looks amazingly the same.

We didn't take as many pictures at our evening banquet - too busy talking and remembering. But here's one last gathering to remind of the joy of fellowship we had together. Lynn Clifton Love, Valjean Brown Aycock, Gail Franklin Meeson, Angie Morris, Edie Robinson Fox, Ann Woods Maxwell, Ginger Malcom Chesser.