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54 / ’southern
CLASSNOTES
Jane Enslen Brown ’41
of
Birmingham, on Nov. 15, 2014.
Her many interests of family,
church, travel, crossword puzzles,
reading, and singing hymns kept
her active throughout her life.
She was a member of South
Highland Presbyterian Church and
participated in church activities
for more than 50 years. Brown’s
husband managed Sears stores,
so they lived in many different
places. She is survived by three
children, six grandchildren, and
several great- and great-great-
grandchildren.
Barbara Callaway Morgan
’41
of Homewood, on Nov. 22,
2014. Morgan sang with choirs at
Trinity United Methodist Church
in Homewood for about five
decades. During college, she was
an active member of choir and
theatre productions and took part
in stagings at the Lyric Theatre and
the Alabama Theatre, often playing
lead soprano. Morgan remained
active in her community, cooking
and serving meals at the Firehouse
Shelter and visiting nursing homes
with other members of Trinity’s
senior choir. She also loved
traveling and spending time with
family. Survivors include two
children; seven grandchildren,
including
Leslie Miller Klasing ’89
,
David E. Miller ’95
, and
Melissa
BorenVinson ’98
(
GregVinson
’95
), all of Birmingham; and 12
great-grandchildren.
EugeniaWall Dean ’43
of
Birmingham, on Sept. 27, 2014. A
Pi Beta Phi graduate of BSC,
Dean received a master’s degree
from Duke University in American
history and more advanced
degrees from Auburn University.
An educator, she taught history
for many years at schools in
Alexander City, later becoming
a school librarian. Following her
husband’s death, she moved
back to Birmingham. Dean was a
lifelong member of the Methodist
church. She is survived by her
daughters,
Kathryn Dean Leeman
’69
and
Laura Dean Ramsay ’72
(
Erskine Ramsay II ’69
), both
of
Birmingham; four grandchildren;
and two great-grandchildren.
Betty Davis Freudenburg ’45
of
Colorado Springs, Colo., on Jan.
2, 2015. Her husband’s career
in banking landed the family in
West Point, Neb., where the
couple raised three children. She
was active in scouting and as a
Red Cross volunteer at the area’s
hospital. They retired to Colorado
in 1974. There, her passion for
history surfaced as she first
volunteered for a local historic
property and then wrote a book
about it titled
Facing the Frontier:
The Story of the MacGregor Ranch
.
Freudenburg also was an active
hiker for many years and loved
gardening and flowers. She is
survived by a son and daughter,
five grandchildren, and one great-
grandson.
Rev. Charles Owen Butler ’50
of Rochester, Minn., on Oct. 29,
2014. Following his studies at
BSC, Butler graduated from the
Candler School of Theology at
Emory University and completed
additional postgraduate work at
Perkins School of Theology at
Southern Methodist University and
at New Mexico State University.
He served as a missionary in
Panama, and later as a pastor
of United Methodist churches
in Alabama and Iowa. In recent
years, he was active in prison
ministry. Butler served in the
U.S. Army near the end of WWII,
stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.
Among his survivors are three
children and two granddaughters.
In
Memoriam
’48
OliverWalter “Joe Bob” Russ
Jr.
, who had a rewarding career as
a computer systems analyst, died
Nov. 7, 2014, in Oak Ridge, Tenn.,
at the age of 91.
Born in Fort Smith, Ark.,
Russ later moved to Springfield,
Mo., where he attended Drury
University for two years before
being drafted to serve in World
War II. He performed U.S. Army
military duties in Fort Nix, N.Y.;
France; Belgium; and Germany
before completing his education
in physics at Birmingham-
Southern.
After graduating, he moved to
Oak Ridge, where he took a job
as an instrument mechanic and
then as a computer analyst at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory. At
ORNL, he met his wife, Dorothy
Roark, whom he married in 1950. They enjoyed their life together and took special
pleasure in their home and garden.
The Russes were generous supporters of BSC, including a significant estate gift to the
college.
“Oliver really valued his BSC education and was pleased to make higher education
the focus of his vast estate,” said Dr. Mary Palmer, his next-door neighbor for many
years. “He was a great person to be around—polite, kind, and a delightful sense of
humor. When dealing with people, he never liked to say ‘no.’ Instead, he would tell you
‘maybe.’”
Survivors include nieces and a nephew.