Summer 2001 - Wayne State College

Alumni Notes(Towns and cities listed on thesepages are in Nebraska unlessnoted or generally understood. Allevents occurred in 2001 unlessindicated otherwise. Efforts aremade to keep our news current.)1937Marion E. Gilmore, Mesa, Ariz.,awarded an honored membership inthe Wisconsin Retired Educators’Association for 21 years ofoutstanding contributions andservice to Wisconsin education inthe Whitefish Bay Public Schoolsystem. She retired in 1975 afterserving as principal.1939Myrle Hemenway, Boulder, Colo.,recently completed his first book,Myrle’s Story; this autobiographycovers 84 years of his life. He isalso editor of The Rocky MountainALUMNI MINI-FEATUREKermit Ambrose BAE ‘35, MAE ‘47In one of his recentChristmas newsletters, KermitAmbrose ‘35 included thisthought: “A Chinesephilosopher said that birthdaysare good for a person. Themore of them you have, thelonger you will live. I concur.”He’s packed a lot of livingand accomplishments into his90 years. Born on Jan. 6, 1911in Hoskins, Ambrose earnedboth a bachelor’s (‘35) and amaster’s (‘47) degree in education at Wayne State College. Foryears, his name has been synonymous with cross-country andtrack in the state of Michigan.He began teaching at old Birmingham High School in1951, officially retiring in 1976 from Birmingham PublicSchools, where he had also served as cross-country coach atBirmingham Seaholm High School. Ambrose accumulated 76straight dual meet track wins in the 1950s and ‘60s. His teamswere state track champions in 1949, as well as state crosscountrychampions in 1959 and 1963.The legendary coach and teacher was honored at a 90thbirthday party in January, with some 150 members of his ‘trackand cross-country’ family from across Michigan and elsewheresharing stories and remembrances of the coach. Many spokewith admiration about the schedule he still keeps. He lives inRoyal Oak, Mich.Last fall, when he was a ‘mere’ 89 years young, heofficiated 24 cross-country meets; set up chutes at four meets;was a spectator at nine meets; officiated all of the indoor trackmeets at Eastern Michigan University; officiated the Mid-American Conference Tournament (“We didn’t have one falsestart,” he said proudly).On June 27, 2001 Ambrose was inducted into the NationalHigh School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame inFargo, N.D. He was selected for his dedication to his professionand to the young men and women whom he guided and servedso faithfully during his career.Congratulations, Kermit!Kiwanian, a bi-monthly bulletinwith a circulation of 5000 copiesand first-place publication winner ofthe Kiwanis InternationalOrganization of 300,000 members.His wife, Leone (Cook)Hemenway, taught at BoulderValley Schools and has retired.1943Shirley (Weilkerson) Weihing,Gering, serves as a volunteer CASA(Court Appointed SpecialAdvocate), which is a child’s voicein the court. Before her retirement,Shirley taught school at Wakefield,Plattsmouth and Lincoln.1961Robert ‘Bob’ Schnitzler, BattleCreek, retired from his coachingcareer. He won the most footballgames and the second-most girls’basketball games as a coach in statehistory. Bob coached football 39seasons at Battle Creek; his teamswere undefeated state champions in1981, 1986, 1987, and 1992 andalso went undefeated in 1967 and1976. His girls’ basketball teamswere state champions from 1984 to1987 and again in 1990. His boys’track team claimed state titles in1981, 1982, 1988 and 1990. Bobretired from teaching at Battle Creektwo years ago, when he also steppeddown as the school’s athleticdirector.Evonne (Anderson) Burkink,Norfolk, was honored upon herretirement from teaching at NorfolkPublic Schools; she joined the staffin 1989. She taught at other Neb.schools for 14 years prior to joiningNorfolk Public staff.Don and Helen (McMahon)Gerber ’62, Ankeny, Iowa, haveretired from the teaching profession.Helen taught computer technologyat Des Moines Area CommunityCollege. Don taught industrialtechnology for 40 years at SaydelHigh School in Des Moines.Gary Weibye, Jasper, Ark.,received the “Outstanding EducatorAward” from Friends of WestburyHigh School in Houston, Texaswhere he taught for 27 years. Garyretired in 1997 and has penned abook, Sanity by Sunrise, a Night ofPost-Teaching Stress Syndrome,which satirizes bureaucracies foundin education, and the governmentaland public attitude towardeducation.1964Fran Crowe, York, was installedgrand chaplain of the Grand LodgeAF&AM of Nebraska. He has beena Master Mason since 1966. Franhas been an agent with State FarmInsurance in York since 1974.Martha (Frey) Wells, Emmetsburg,Iowa, was named “Iowa ReadingTeacher of the Year 2000” andreceived the “Ron Terry Award2000.” She retired from teaching in2000 after 38 years in theprofession.1969Ed Tryon, Sioux City, wasrecognized as the “Excellence inEducation” award winner at SouthSioux City Junior High. A seventhgrade math teacher, he taught hisentire career in the South Sioux Citydistrict. Ed and his wife, Lucinda,who teaches at the Senior High,have served the district a total of 63years.Keen Lerch, and his family movedto Charlotte, N.C., in 1997 to open aMid-Atlantic sales office for theArnold Engineering Co. He hasbeen employed with the companyfor 25 years. Susan, his wife,teaches preschool at their church.They are the parents of threechildren: Kymberly, Brett andBrandon, a 2001 graduate ofWayne State College.1970Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D.,Omaha, has been promoted to theposition of director of the educationprogram (department chair) atCollege of Saint Mary.Steve Schroeder, Norfolk, waspresented a plaque for hiscontinuous service to the NorfolkPublic Schools. Steve joined thestaff in 1976 and has served as ahigh school guidance counselor thepast 25 years.Norman Phillips, Granada Hills,Calif., is loss control manager in LosAngeles for the State CompensationInsurance Fund in Calif. Norman isthe proud grandparent of his firstgrandchild.Wayne State Magazine 19WSC Magazine Summer 011910/2/01, 2:49 PM