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Friends United Meeting |
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July/August 2003
Passages
Births:
To Darcy and Jenny Conrad, a son, Elias Paul, April 20, 2003, Wabash Friends Meeting, Indiana.
To Ben and Becky Mumbower, a daughter, Samantha Lynn, March 5, 2003, Anderson Friends, Indiana.
To Nate and Linda Rider, a daughter, Mackenzie Arnette, April 12, 2003, Greensboro Friends, North Carolina.
Deaths:
BEESON J. Wilmer Beeson, 92, April 21, 2003, Nettle Creek Friends Meeting, Indiana. Wilmer Beeson was born on April 7, 1911, the son of Fred and Laura Davis Beeson. He was a retired Friends pastor who served numerous Indiana churches including White River, Martindale, Mooreland, Bear Creek, New Garden, Kennard, Bethel and Nettle Creek and was active in Indiana Yearly Meeting. He was also a retired employee of Perfect Circle. Survivors include two sons, Chris and Thomas; two step-daughters, Sharon Graves and Karen Holler; one sister, Mildred Thornburg; three grandchildren, six step-grandchildren, one great-grand daughter.
BUSCOMBE William Frederick Minett Buscombe, 85, March 13, 2003, Evanston Friends Meeting, Illinois. William Buscombe was born February 12, 1918, the only son of Ethel Minett and William Henry Buscombe. He was raised in Toronto, where he earned his degree in astronomy from the University of Toronto in 1940. An agnostic as a youth, Bill became a Quaker prior to the beginning of World War II, and upon graduation, qualified as a conscientious objector. For the next five years, Bill devoted his scientific skills to the service of Canada as a civilian meteorologist, forecasting the weather for convoys crossing the Atlantic and for planes flying to England via Newfoundland and Ireland. After the war, Bill taught astronomy at the University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon, before accepting a scholarship for the Ph.D. program at Princeton University. Immediately upon earning his doctoral degree, he started work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Pasadena. Bill married Royal Kee in 1942 under the care of Toronto Friends Monthly Meeting. In 1952, with their growing family, they moved to Australia, where Bill accepted a position at the Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra. At Mount Stromlo, Bill began his pioneering work in the spectral classification of stars visible in the southern hemisphere. He continued this work until the end of his life, compiling results obtained by other astronomers into fifteen catalogues used by researchers around the world. In 1968, he came to Northwestern University as Professor of Astronomy. At Evanston Meeting, he held the children in First Day School spellbound with his slides and talks about the planets and stars. Bill's deep devotion to Quakerism was shared by his wife Royal, and wherever they went, they attended Quaker Meetings or set up worship groups in their home. They were founding members of the Canberra Meeting of the Society of Friends and attended Evanston Friends Meeting from 1968 to the present. As the official Quaker representative on the Northwestern University campus, Bill established a midweek Meeting for Worship in the Student Union and tended it for a number of years, despite the noise level and general unpredictability of student scheduling. He also encouraged Northwestern students who had Quaker ties to attend Evanston Meeting and, with Royal, frequently hosted teas or breakfasts to welcome them. Over the years, Bill served on several committees at Evanston Meeting, including clerk of Ministry and Counsel, Trustees and Recording Clerk. For five years, Bill and Royal wrote and mimeographed a weekly Sunday morning bulletin for the Meeting. For over 20 years, Bill acted as Meeting Recorder and faithfully sent cards with handwritten notes to acknowledge the birthdays and anniversaries of those in the Evanston Meeting community. He served as representative to Friends World Committee on Consultation, Metropolitan General Meeting and the Evanston Ecumenical Action Committee. Bill will be remembered at Evanston Meeting for his spiritual depth and the fervor of his commitment. He often stood during Meeting for Worship to read from the scriptures and to share what he always referred to as Òthe good news.Ó He was preceded in death by one son, Andrew. Survivors include his wife, Royal, and seven children, Dawn, Eve, and Peter in Australia, Martin, Lucy, Kathy and Timothy in the U.S.; eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
FERGUSON Meta Ruth Ferguson, 95, March 7, 2003, Evanston Friends Meeting, Illinois. Meta Ruth was born July 14, 1907, to Cora and Sylvester Ferguson, who were active in the life of Evanston Meeting during the 50s and 60s. Upon moving to California, she continued to remain a regular contributor, read the newsletter faithfully and took a great interest in the issues being discussed during our Meetings for Business. Meta Ruth was the editor of the Children's Page in Quaker Life and shared family stories about the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the journey of two generations participating in the Westward Movement. She was also the senior editor of the Penn Series, widely used in Children's Religious Education. Meta Ruth received her BachelorÕs degree from Friends University in Wichita and attended Hartford Theological Seminary. She led numerous religious seminars, workshops, developed curricula, traveled, wrote and studied. Meta Ruth wrote poetry all of her life and led several poetry workshops. She was still taking art classes up until the very last few years of her life. Many Friends possess her very carefully drawn greeting cards.
JAY Watson Stover Jay, 88, April 11, 2003, Jonesboro Friends, Indiana. Watson Jay was born October 12, 1914 to Watson D. and Mariam Stover Jay. He was active in sports, holding the Grant County pole-vaulting record for many years. He married Mildred Overmeyer on March 20, 1937. Watson was a lifetime member of Jonesboro Friends meeting and taught Sunday School for both the children and adults. He served as presiding clerk and was active in the men's Fellowship Group. He was retired after 46 years from Essex & Paranite where he served as payroll supervisor. He was preceded in death by his wife Mildred in 1996 and one daughter, Judith Beeson. Survivors include one daughter, Linda Williams; one sister, Mariam Wade; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
KIRK Fred W. Kirk, 85, April 8, 2003, Anderson First Friends, Indiana. Fred Kirk was born June 22, 1917, the son of Floyd and Mabel Kirk. In 1936 he married his wife, Helen. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He then worked for Dirtzen's bakery and Delco Remy in Anderson. Fred was a member of Anderson First Friends, Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge 77, Scottish Rite valley of Indianapolis, American Legion and National Federated Craft. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Helen, in 2001 and one brother. Survivors include one daughter Carla J. Crowe; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and two sisters.
MILLER Geneva M. Miller, 93, March 16, 2003, Jonesboro Friends, Indiana. Geneva was born on January 24, 1910, a daughter of Charlie and Mary Newby Pitt. She married Merle D. Miller in 1938. She was an active member of Jonesboro Friends Meeting where she served as a Sunday School teacher, conducted a home Bible study, was Monthly Meeting Clerk and on Ministry and Oversight as well as active in USFWI. She received the Eliza Cox Armstrong Award for her 50 years of participation in the USFWI reading program and sewed quilts for the Kickapoo Indian Center and lap robes for the local nursing homes. She made a mission trip to Jamaica and served as a Salvation Army bell ringer. She received a Crown of Recognition from Grant County Church Women United and served as their treasurer and attended the annual state conferences. She was preceded in death by her husband, Merle in 1978; one sister Lucille Ireland; and two brothers, Charles and James Pitt. Survivors include one daughter, Shirley Grubb; one brother Earl Pitt; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
PURVIS Viola Evelyn Purvis, 91, February 11, 2003, Old Chatam Meeting, New York.Viola was born November 3, 1911 in Yonkers, New York, an only child. Raised a Baptist, she once said, "In order to be a good Baptist, I had to become a Quaker." After high school, she worked as a secretary, eventually becoming Secretary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission office in New York City. In New York City, Viola worked with Dorothy Day to establish a soup kitchen. Her form of war tax protest was to live so simply she would not have to pay taxes. She did not own a car until 1977, and it was a stick shift! Viola received a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York, and began to work on a biography of a New York Quaker woman for her Masters degree. She retired from the Baptist Foreign Mission Office and became Secretary of New York Yearly Meeting from 1967 until 1977. She then went to Jamaica and Florida, becoming secretary of Orlando Monthly Meeting from October 1977 until 1981. In later life, Viola divided her time between traveling in the ministry and visiting friends in New York and Florida. The high point of her travels was an international summer gathering at Woodbrooke College, England, on "The Message of George Fox for Today." From there, she attended the sessions of London Yearly Meeting at Lancaster, England, then ended her trip at Bornholm, Denmark. Viola recognized and nurtured other peopleÕs gifts, especially those of the spirit. Viola was an optimistic person who looked for the good in everyone, but she was no marshmallow. She described herself as a "radical." She went to Nicaragua with a group of Friends and then to Cuba where she spoke with Castro at some length. Day by day, she was a friend to each person she met, nurturing them physically and spiritually.
SHANE Ronald D. Shane, 63, May 2, 2003, Jonesboro Friends, Indiana. Ronald Shane was born on January 13, 1940 to Frank and Gertrude Ressler Shane. On February 27, 1960, he married Lois Harris. Survivors include his wife, Lois; one son, Stephen; three daughters, Lori Kaczmarek, Amy and Audrey; one sister, Ilene Howard; and seven grandchildren.
SILLS Mary Lula Tew Sills, 87, May 4, 2003, Bethesda Friends Meeting, Dunn, North Carolina. Mary Sills was a member of Bethesda Friends Meeting since 1937, where she taught Sunday school for 30 years and was a member of the USFW Lizzie Sills Missionary Circle. She was preceeded in death by her husband, Wallace L. Sills, Sr. and one son, Robert S. "Bobby Sherrill" Sills. Survivors include two sons, Wallace L. Sills, Jr. and Wardell Watson; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
WOLFE Laurel A. Wolfe, 46, April 25, 2003, Wabash Friends Meeting, Indiana. Laurel was born in Marion, Indiana, the daughter of Jerry and Barbara Garner. She and her husband, Donald Wolfe, moved to Zephyrhills, Florida 20 years ago. She was a member of Wabash Friends and the First Presbyterian Church in Zephyrhills. She was preceded in death by one son, Ryan. Survivors include her husband, Donald; two daughters, Alicia and Autumn; her parents Jerry and Barbara Garner; one sister, Claudia Givens; and two brothers, Tim and Chris Garner.
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