Milestones January 2013

Marriages

Williams and Roush—Anna Williams and James Roush, on August 25, 2012, under the care of Ann Arbor (Mich.) Meeting., in a wedding after the manner of Friends. Anna, who studied botany and anthropology, is the daughter of Teri and John Williams. Jim is an attorney for Consumers Energy Company, helping consumers address federal regulatory issues, and he is the son of Deborah and Stephen Roush. Anna and Jim met through mutual friends, but a shared love of food brought them together as a couple. Months after initially meeting Jim, Anna suggested to some friends, including Jim, that they get together for dinner at Eve, her favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor. Although neither of them thought of the dinner as a date, they were pleased when the evening ended up being just the two of them. Anna and Jim became so engrossed in each other’s company that they kept talking until they looked up and realized the restaurant was closing, and they were the last people there. They talked of marriage informally for several months while Jim got up the courage to ask, and the night he proposed, he was so nervous that he told himself he could not get out of his chair without proposing. The wedding and the reception took place outdoors on a beautiful sunny day at Jim’s parents’ farmhouse. For the wedding, Anna wore a beautiful dress that she had made herself. At the wedding, Friends offered both lighthearted and serious messages, including one from Jim’s grandmother, who said that she felt the presence of her late husband.

Births

Ehri—Bonnie and Gabriel Ehri, of Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa., and their son Thomas, welcomed a baby boy, Nicholas Paul Ehri, on November 8, 2012, at 4:40 p.m., in Philadelphia. Nicholas weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20.75″ long. His grandparents are Ruthe and Bill Schoder-Ehri, of Friends Southwest Center, Elfrida, Ariz., and Bridget and Paul Bissonnette, of Portsmouth, R.I. Gabriel is executive director of Friends Journal, and Bonnie is a manager at Recyclebank.

Deaths

Hollinshead—Earl Darnell Hollinshead Jr., 85, on August 21, 2012, in Bethel Park, Pa., in the presence of his family and surrounded by music. Earl was born on August 1, 1927, near Pittsburgh, Pa., and grew up in Lombard, Ill., and western Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Bethel Park High School. After attending Ohio University for a year, he served in the navy during World War II, studying at University of Richmond and Duke University during his naval training. He graduated from Ohio University in 1948, and in 1951 he received an LLB from University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Recalled to service for the Korean War, he was a navigator on the destroyer USS Ingraham. Earl loved music, and while singing in the Pittsburgh Downtown Chorale, met Sylvia Virginia Antion; they married in 1957 in University of Pittsburgh Heinz Chapel. He was a devoted Quaker and a member of Medford (N.J.) Meeting all his life. A property and estates lawyer, he always made himself available to other lawyers to work through complex issues, and he helped to develop residential and commercial real estate in western Pennsylvania, serving as general counsel to one of the region’s largest savings and loans associations and representing owners, developers, lenders, and title insurers. After twenty years in a solo practice, in 1973 he became a founding partner of Hollinshead and Mendelson, and in 1982 he was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Nationally recognized for his expertise, he was named in Best Lawyers in America. He closed his own practice in 1998 and joined Geraghty & Associates, working with one of the many lawyers he had mentored. He served the Pennsylvania and the Allegheny County Bar Associations in many leadership roles, including chair of the ACBA real property section and chair of the PBA real property division. He was also a Life Fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and served on the Board of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. Committed to the continuing education of practicing lawyers, he presented many bar association programs and helped to create and nurture the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, serving on its board of directors. Earl held frequent backyard picnics for colleagues at his home in Bethel Park, Pa. He was an avid golfer and boater and could often be found on the golf course at Valley Brook Country Club or on Cheat Lake surrounded by family and friends. Music was at the center of his life, and he sang in church choirs, including Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh and First Presbyterian Church in Port Charlotte, Fla., where he spent winters during retirement. Earl was preceded in death by his sister, Margaret Hollinshead Ley, and his parents, Gertrude Cahill Hollinshead and Earl Darnell Hollinshead Sr. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sylvia A. Hollinshead; one sister, Ariel C. Hollinshead (Montgomery K. Hyun); four children, Barbara May Hollinshead (Michael Sieverts), Kim Hollinshead Burke (Michael Burke), Susan Sharp Hollinshead, and Earl Darnell Hollinshead III; four grandchildren; two nephews; two great-nieces; one great-nephew, and many other relatives.

Lenhart—James Donald Lenhart, 78, on September 21, 2012, in Black Mountain, N.C., after a series of health setbacks. Jim was born on November 29, 1933, in Connellsville, Pa., to Blossom Murray and J. Donald Lenhart. He graduated in 1957 from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and after working briefly for the National Security Association as a code breaker, he wrote for and edited newspapers and magazines for 17 years in Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, also working for a time in public relations for Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania. Jim became a convinced Friend in the 1960s and served as editor of Friends Journal from 1972 to 1977. In an article that he wrote for the magazine in 2005, he said that one of the things he remembered most about those years was the strength of the relationship between the Journal and its readers, a bond that he attributed to “the attraction Quakerism has for seekers who are open to ongoing revelation.” He also remembered the “day-in, day-out experience of being led, guided, helped, and supported by a Power that was indescribable.” His thoughtful editorship gave a voice to some of the contentious issues of those years, including gay and lesbian concerns, feminism, and the ongoing debate among Friends about the centrality of Jesus in their faith. One change that he favored was the use of more photographs and artwork, including Friends General Conference staff member Ken Miller’s photographs and Signe Wilkinson’s cartoons. In 1977, he and his wife, Ann Wells Romig Lenhart, moved to an alternative school and Quaker intentional community in Celo, N.C., that had been founded in the 1940s by Clarence Pickett and other Friends, and he joined Celo Meeting. They lived and worked there for five years, and Jim was director of Celo Press. Later he was Residence Director of Warren Wilson College, worked at an adult daycare home in Asheville, N.C., and for the last three years of his working life, served as executive director of Mountain Care, forerunner of Community Care Partners Adult Day Services. He retired in 1998, and Ann died the following year. In 2000, he found a new life partner, and he and Jeanette Reid spent 12 joyful years together before his death. In retirement, Jim enjoyed traveling, especially to state and national parks, visiting mountains, rivers, prairies, and coastal regions where he observed animals and birds. He served on many non-profit and environmental boards. Warm, enthusiastic, and generous, he said that being born into a family of unconditional love was the greatest gift of his life, and he tried to pass along that love to others. Jim is survived by his life partner, Jeanette Reid; his brother, Dick Lenhart (Kay); four children, Del Lenhart, Matt Lenhart (Laura), Valerie Pulsifer (Jon), and Jil Meadows (John); his former daughter-in-law, Terri Lenhart; 14 grandchildren; and 3 great grandchildren. Memorial gifts may be made to Arthur Morgan School, Celo, N.C.; Black Mountain-Swannanoa Community Foundation; Black Mountain Center for the Arts; or any environmental group.

Linn—Kathleen Rae McAdam Linn, 85, on April 2, 2012, in St. Louis Heights, Hawaii. Kay was born on January 31, 1927, in Assiniboia, Sask., Canada, to Sibyl and James McAdam. Kay had three older sisters and grew up with a cousin who was also like a sister. Although she had a happy childhood, her vivid memories of the Great Depression—the dust storms, the hardships endured by farmers and their families, and the men “tramping” to find work—contributed to her empathy for those less fortunate. As a girl, she visited the Japanese internment camp near her town to read to the children and spoke earnestly to people in the community about racism and life on the camps. She earned a BA from University of Alberta, where she met Jim Linn. After Jim served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, they married in 1948 in Edmonton, Alberta. They went to Hawaii in 1950 for Jim to teach at University of Hawaii, a move that meant that she didn’t see her family for many years. Kay was drawn to the diversity of cultures and peoples in Hawaii and was active in the university faculty community. She and Jim moved temporarily to Los Angeles in 1952 for Jim to complete his doctoral courses at University of Southern California. Kay became a U.S. citizen in 1960. After she joined Honolulu Meeting, she once told another Friend that one of the influences on her becoming a Quaker was that when she applied for U.S. citizenship, Quakers had helped her come up with an alternative to swearing an oath to bear arms in order to defend the country. Kay was a Democrat and was active in the antiwar movement. She taught at Palolo Elementary School and was the first director of the Head Start program in Palolo Valley. After she received a Master’s in Counseling in 1978 from University of Hawaii, she was a career counselor at Kapiolani Community College, did individual and marriage counseling, and had a stint as a travel agent. She worked with prisoners and led battered women’s groups and violent men’s groups at The Family Peace Center. Kay and Jim also sheltered women and children who were victims of abuse. A world traveler, she was an avid reader, loved movies, and had a lively sense of humor. She donated her body to University of Hawaii Medical School. As the men were about to put her body in the van, one of them said to her family, “Just so you know, there’s another lady in there too.” One of Kay’s daughters replied, “That’s okay! Our mom will get to know everything about her before you get to the bottom of St. Louis Heights!” Her husband, Jim Linn, died in 2007. Kay is survived by three children, Andrea Linn Nelson (David Michael Nelson), Susan Alana Linn, and Brian McAllistair Linn (Diane Kamins Linn); and two grandchildren.

Massey—Lloyd Micajah Massey, 96, on September 25, 2012, at Universal Healthcare in Ramseur, N.C. Lloyd was born on March 11, 1916, in Wayne County, N.C., to Emma Cox and Elijah Massey. He was a member of New Hope Friends Church in Goldsboro, N.C. A longtime farmer in the Dudley community, he served as president of the American Dairy Association of North Carolina and as master of the North Carolina State Grange. Lloyd’s first wife, Eunice Overman Massey, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Dellinger Goodin Massey; three sons, Macon Massey (Donna), Frank Massey (Beth), and Harry Massey; three grandchildren; two stepdaughters; four step-grandchildren; and one step-great-grandson. Memorials may be made to New Hope Friends Meeting, 4451 E U.S. 70 Hwy., Goldsboro, NC 27530.

Olson—Faith Whitaker Olson, 87, on July 8, 2012, in Claremont, Calif., in her sleep, with her son at her side. Faith was born on June 20, 1925, in Lintsing, Shantung, China, to medical missionaries Louise Gulick and Robert Burdette Whitaker, the youngest of six children (including an adopted Chinese sister). She spent  her first five years in China, speaking mostly Chinese, and went again to China with her family during her high school years. In 1947 she graduated from Oberlin College, as her mother and grandmother had done. Subsequently she went to nursing school, after which she lived for several years in the San Francisco Bay area. From 1952–57, she served as a missionary in Korea, working as a lab technician. Faith married Robert Allen Olson, an accomplished amateur pianist and composer, in 1963 in Los Angeles. Older-than-usual parents, they joyously welcomed the birth of their son, Nels, in 1966. Bob’s piano playing filled their household with joy. He was sight-impaired, and Faith supported him in his different jobs, including management of courthouse food concessions. The Olsons lived in several communities in Southern California and Oregon. In the 1970s and 80s, Faith was a member of the Pacific Ackworth Meeting in Temple City, Calif. She became friends with John and Alice Way, founders of Pacific Ackworth Friends School (in those years a K-8 school), and she and Bob sent their son there from fifth through eighth grade. During this period, Faith became active in RESULTS, a group that lobbies for legislation on hunger issues, and she remained active in this work for many years, both when she lived in Oregon and later in Claremont. When Bob died in 1990, she continued her work as a medical lab technician through the early 1990s and retired to Mount San Antonio Gardens in Pomona/Claremont in 1996, where she began attending Claremont Meeting, sometimes accompanied by her sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Ed Riggs, who lived nearby at Pilgrim Place in Claremont. Some of her friends from missionary days in Korea also lived at Pilgrim Place. Faith liked playing her small organ and watching her cat enjoy the warmth of the sun coming in through her window. She was active with Claremont Friends as well as with community causes, especially the Council of Churches Hunger Project. She also aided the Braille Institute doing transcription for the blind. Faith was welcomed into membership of Claremont Meeting in 1999, and she continued her service on the Fellowship, Discussion, Peace and Social Order, or Library committees (usually on more than one committee each year) until physical problems of advancing age curtailed her activities with Friends, who  have missed her gentle spirit and quiet presence in meetings for worship in recent years. She is survived by a son, Nels Olson (Ellen Lewis), and by cousins, nieces, and nephews widely scattered across the United States.

Pulliam—Bruce Robert Pulliam, 88, on July 8, 2012, at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, N.C. Bruce and his twin brother, Henry Talmadge Pulliam, were born on November 29, 1923, and reared in the Roxboro area of Person County, N.C. The brothers served as medical corpsmen in the Pacific theater during World War II. After the war, Bruce earned degrees from Wake Forest University and Western Carolina University. He began his career as an educator at High Plains School, a rural Person County school for Native Americans. Following work there, he taught at the American Schools in the Philippines and Japan and at boarding schools here in the United States. In 1962 Bruce moved to Fayetteville, N.C., to teach at the newly-opened Methodist College, where he remained for 35 years. During the late 1960s, as the Vietnam War intensified, he provided local leadership to assist in the establishment of Quaker House of Fayetteville, a full-time peace and military counseling project near Fort Bragg. He served on the board of overseers for Quaker House from 1969 to 1996. Bruce was a founding member and recorded elder of Fayetteville Meeting. He and his brother moved to Murfreesboro, N.C., in 1997 to be near their sister and her family. The two brothers became active supporters of Chowan University’s music and arts programs, the local public library, the historical association, and Habitat for Humanity. Being convinced that Friends should be active members of the meeting nearest their homes, Bruce moved his membership from Fayetteville Meeting to Rich Square Meeting in nearby Woodland, N.C., where he became a beloved member and elder. Wherever he lived, Bruce was a dedicated educator, supporter of the arts, community leader, and faithful friend to many. He collected and preserved underground GI newspapers and information about anti-war activities in the Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg area. That collection is preserved for research in the Friends Historical Collection at Guilford College. Bruce is survived by his sister, Mildred Wrenn (S.T. Wrenn); four nephews; several grandnieces and grandnephews; and many dear friends.