Memorials and Milestones

Memorials, Pastoral Concerns, Celebrations and Transitions

The following announcements are made regarding members of our ACPE extended community.

Please keep the families of these persons in your prayers.

Stephen A. Spencer's father has passed away. Steve is an ACPE Supervisor at VA-Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle , Washington . Bud Spencer died in Decatur , Georgia on June 7th. He was buried in Charlotte , North Carolina on June 14th. Condolence messages may be sent to Stephen.Spencer@med.va.gov.

ACPE is saddened by the passing of Supervisor Mary Crist Brown in Atlanta, Georgia. Colleague Gene Locke wrote the following:

Our friend and sister Mary Crist ended her earthly life and entered eternal life in the all-encompassing love of God May 20th. As some of you may know, Mary Crist has been on a journey this past year, "sitting at the edge of the unknown", as she would say, as she underwent treatment for non-Hodgkins' lymphoma. She received a stem cell transplant April 11 and was doing as well as is usually anticipated, when an unexpected complication made it necessary for her to be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Northside Hospital. Until a year ago, she served as the chaplain for the ICU at Northside Hospital , and she was cared for by the staff there with amazing competence, compassion, and generosity. However, the injury to her brain was severe and irreversible, and inconsistent with the kind of meaningful life that she would want. In accordance with her wishes, she was placed on comfort measures for these past few days and cared for with great kindness by the staff on our Oncology Unit. Throughout her journey with this illness, she carried herself with uncommon grace and dignity, and worked as she was able to in the chaplaincy department until the end of March. Her passion was first to live, then to care for her loved ones, and then CPE!

I am confident that although her life has been taken by this illness, her spirit lives in the legacy of the many students, clients, colleagues, and friends whose lives she touched.

Gene Locke
Manager, Pastoral Care
Northside Hospital
gene.locke@northside.com

We have been notified that Chaplain Burton L. Wilner of Palm Beach, Florida passed away on May 5 th. He was a Clinical Member in the Southeast Region.

Congratulations!

ACPE Supervisor, The Rev. Darryl James Tiller, at the Oklahoma Health Center CPE Institute in Oklahoma City, OK, wrote Growing into Jesus, Six Building Blocks for Life in Christ. In April, Rev. Tiller's book was awarded “Book of the Week” by PublishAmerica. Darryl may be contacted at Darryl.Tiller@va.gov.

Newly certified Associate Supervisor Brenda Wallace has suffered the loss of her home in Decatur, Georgia. Her home was destroyed by fire at the end of April. She and her husband, James, and her daughter and even the dog are safe. It will probably take 1 year to rebuild and at this point there is some question about the insurance because of recent needs for repair having to do with a burglary and tree fall. Brenda and James are struggling financially right now, and are living with their daughter. An Emergency Fire Fund has been set up at Bank America for the receiving of funds to help the Wallaces rebuild and pay expenses. To donate to the Fund, one contacts Bank America , any branch, and asks to deposit to the Emergency Fire Fund in the names of The Rev. Brenda and James Wallace. You may send a message to Brenda at bbrendawallace@aol.com.

Gary Sartain's, Regional Director of the North Central Region, son Jeremy was riding home from work on his motorcycle on April 23, 2008 in the right lane of a local freeway, when a car swerved and braked in front of him. Although he was almost able to get around it, he did catch it in the left rear quarter, and both he and his bike flew over the car, with the bike then coming down on top of him when he landed. He sustained multiple fractures of his left tibia and also a major fracture of the left acetabular—the ball in the hip socket was torn out of the joint. Jeremy had surgery the following day and the outcome was the best possible: all bones are back in place in their original anatomical structure. He will not be able to weight bear on that leg for 8 to 12 weeks and will need to learn to walk again. It will require 4 to 12 months for Jeremy to fully recover. Well wishes may be sent to Jeremy and the Sartain family at ncracpe@ncracpe.org.

ACPE Supervisor at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, Rev. Sheryl Lyndes Stowman's son, Derek, was out camping with a group of friends at Whitewater State Park in Minnesota the last weekend in April, 2008. While hiking a large rock dislodged above him and hit him on the head. He was brought to St. Mary's hospital in Rochester, where he was diagnosed with about a ten inch skull fracture and received nine staples in his head. Thankfully, there was no greater brain damage beyond a traumatic brain injury that is still being monitored. Thanks all for your thoughts and prayers for his healing process and Sheryl's family. Well wishes may be sent to sstowma1@fairview.org.

Supervisor Bill Russell is mourning the loss of his mother: Virginia Boyce Wilson Russell died April 22, 2008, at the East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro. She was born in Duluth, Ga., on April 15, 1911, to Elizabeth Barrye Hoyt Wilson and Donald Winfred Wilson, a farmer and banker. Her maternal great-grandmother was the first baby born in Atlanta, Ga. Her paternal great-great-grandmother drove cattle on horseback from Virginia to Georgia and lived to be 107 years old.
She was graduated from North Avenue Presbyterian School and attended the University of Georgia , majoring in Physical Education. She was the first female freshman in the school's history to letter in a varsity sport. One day she went to her English instructor's office to discuss a paper, and met his office mate, Fielding Dillard Russell. During her sophomore year, she served as president of the school's YWCA, but left school after that year to marry.
In 1932, the Russells moved to Statesboro, where Fielding Russell began a 45-year career teaching English at South Georgia Teachers College. Virginia Russell graduated from Georgia Teachers College with a BS in Education, going on to earn a Master's degree and a Six Year Certificate. She taught at the West Side School, the Middleground School, Mattie Lively Elementary and Julia P. Bryant before her retirement in 1976. One of her great pleasures in old age was seeing or hearing from former students. She loved reminding her doctor on visits to his office that she had taught him in the 5th grade.
For years, she wrote a column, "Through the Eyes of Virginia Russell," which ran in the Bulloch Herald. In her 60s, after having two mastectomies, she volunteered in the Reach to Recovery program, offering comfort and advice to other women dealing with breast cancer.
The First Presbyterian Church was the center of her spiritual life. She was a longtime member of the evening circle, and with Fielding led a young people's group on Sunday evenings. She served for more than 20 years as church historian, and in 1991 wrote "A Century of Presbyterianism in Bulloch County " to commemorate the anniversary. She was a busy person who always had a project in planning or in the works. At various times in her life, she spearheaded or joined groups making decorations for the Chrismon tree, creating mosaics, needle pointing cushions, creating a meditation garden and assembling devotionals written by church members.
A woman of strong convictions and a willingness to express them, she was a powerful force in shaping her children's lives. She is survived by three children and their spouses: William Don and Barbara Bolin Russell, Richard Brevard and Wasana Wongwanit Russell IV and Virginia Russell and Stephen Black; by a daughter-in-law: Elizabeth Radford Russell; by nine grandchildren: Elizabeth R. (and Trip) DuBard, Fielding Dillard (and Hiromi) Russell III, James Alexander (and Molly) Russell, Patience America (and Scott) Gordon, William Franklin Rice Russell, William Don (and Tracy) Russell Jr., Shannon Hoyt (and Susan) Russell, Aimee Katherine (and Scott) Birlingmair and Marguerite Elizabeth Hutchins; and by 14 great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death are her beloved Fieldings: her husband of 61 years, and her eldest child. She is also survived by a sister, Elwyn Wilson (and John Frank) Ward of McDonough, Ga.; sisters-in-law, Alma H. Wilson of Doraville and Ala Jo B. Russell of Memphis; and by a host of loved and loving nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.
The family wishes to thank the Health Department Home Care aides and nurses for their cheerful and compassionate care over the last six years. We further wish to thank the nurses, aides and doctors who cared for her at East Georgia Regional Medical Center.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be given in her memory to the Virginia Wilson Russell Elementary Education Scholarship (3518) at Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8053, Statesboro, GA 30460; or to the Statesboro First Presbyterian Church, 1215 Fair Road, Statesboro, GA 30458. You may send condolences to Bill Russell at anja3@att.net.

Supervisor Ramona Cass is mourning the loss of her father, who passed at the end of March. Condolences may be sent to ramona.cass@providence.org.

One of the five young lives that was so needlessly taken at the Northern Illinois University campus was that of Ryanne Mace, the only grandchild of ACPE Supervisor Emeritus, the Rev. Eugene W. Mace and his wife Sally of Washington, IL. Gene was an active member of the North Central Region, serving as a CPE Supervisor in Peoria, IL at the time of his retirement a number of years ago. Ryanne's parents are Gene and Sally's son, Eric, and his wife, Mary Kay, of Carpentersville, IL. The maternal grandparents are Rev. Miley and Janet Palmer of Decatur, IL. Condolences may be sent to Gene Mace at genemace@aol.com.

The 19-year-old sophomore from Carpentersville was studying psychology at the university.

Eric Mace told how Ryanne got her unusual name. He and his wife picked "Ryan'' for a boy, but couldn't agree on a girl's name. So they decided to make it right for a girl -"Ryanne.''

"She was beautiful and brilliant and caring," Mary Kay Mace said of her daughter. "She wanted to start a career helping people. She was in psychology to become a counselor. She was our only child, the light of our lives."

Sister of ACPE Supervisor Ted Hodge, Carolyn Louise Magee, 61, of Weaverville, NC, passed away Sunday, February 3, 2008, at John F. Keever, Jr. Solace Center, Asheville, after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer.

She was born Jan. 23, 1947, in Fredericksburg, VA, to Rev. John and Vera Hodge. Her father preceded her in death. Carolyn earned a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Virginia in 1969. She did public health nursing in Micronesia, where she and her husband served in the Peace Corps before moving to Oregon, then California, and, in 1987, Buncombe County, NC. She concluded her long and varied nursing career as a psychiatric nurse at Memorial Mission Hospital.

Carolyn is the beloved wife of 39 years to Ralph Magee; cherished and devoted mother to Melissa (Chapel Hill), Jonathan (Boone), Jeremy and his wife Brooke (Charlotte), Stephanie (Chapel Hill), Anthony (Weaverville), Timothy (Boone), and Benjamin (Weaverville); and sister to Ted Hodge of Louisville, KY, and Bill Hodge of Black Mountain, NC. Carolyn had six of her seven births at home and home-schooled her children over a period of 19 years, imparting to them a love of learning and supporting them in pursuing higher education. Carolyn was a joyful and compassionate person who loved people, travel, nature, singing and photography, and was an active member of First Baptist Church, Asheville.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be designated to offset the cost Carolyn's Hospice stay and mailed to John F. Keever Solace Center, P.O. Box 5779, Asheville, NC 28813 (please specify for Carolyn Magee), or to a college account for her youngest son, made payable to Ben Magee and mailed to: Wachovia Bank, Attn: Patti Crain, NC 7116, One Haywood St., Asheville, NC 28801. You may send a condolence message to Ted Hodge at: thodge@bhsi.com.