36 / ’
southern
CLASSNOTES
Class
Notes
’42
Howell Heflin
,
a three-term U.S.
senator and former Alabama
Supreme Court chief justice from
Tuscumbia, was posthumously
inducted last September into the
Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame. It
recognizes men from Alabama who
have made significant contributions
on a state, national, or international
level.
’43
Lester Gingold
has retired
from the Commercial Appeal in
Memphis, Tenn., after 30 years
and a storied journalistic career.
Gingold continues to publish The
Best Times, an award-winning
monthly news magazine for the
50
+ market. He recently was
featured in a 30-minute PBS
program about his experiences
as a Sears and Scripps Howard
executive and magazine publisher.
’50
Dr. J.Willene Paxton
of Johnson
City, Tenn., was the speaker at
both of East Tennessee State
University’s fall Commencement
exercises this past December.
Paxton came to ETSU in 1963 as
dean of women. She established
ETSU’s Counseling Center, which
she directed until her retirement
in 1993.
’52
At age 80,
Adelle Sperling
is still
riding her bike every day. “I ride
a minimum of 15 miles each day,”
she said. A lifelong Homewood
resident, Sperling has lived in the
same house almost consecutively
since 1938, when her father
bought it.
’59
Alice Copeland Brown
of Canton,
Mass., is proud to announce that
her 13th grandchild, Cade Sawyer
Harris, was born on July 27, 2011,
in Tampa, Fla., to her youngest son,
John.
When the editor and founder of
the Williamson Leader,
Bailey
Leopard Sr.
,
turned 75 years old
on Nov. 8, 2011, the event was
marked with a proclamation read
by County Mayor Rogers Anderson
at a party held at Grace Health
Care in Williamson County, Tenn.,
where Leopard resides.
’60
Gary Seale
spent 23 years working
with the U.S. Secret Service, with
the privilege of participating in the
investigation into John F. Kennedy’s
assassination. He’s practiced
law for the past 15 years in the
Birmingham and Scottsboro areas.
’61
Anne Bates Gibbons
recently
received the 2012 Historical
Preservation Award given by the
Women’s Committee of 100 for
Birmingham for the creation of
the Arkwright Heritage Award for
nominating 11 sites to the Alabama
Historical Register of Landmarks
and Heritage. The Arkwright
Heritage area now has 13 sites
listed. The area is about 30-40
minutes southeast of Birmingham,
starting in Harpersville.
’62
Burr & Forman LLP announced that
Birmingham Counsel
Ed Hardin
was installed as a president of the
Alabama chapter of the American
Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
on Nov. 10, 2011. Hardin was
inducted into the chapter in 1993
and has held several leadership
positions. In addition, he is
recognized by the organization as
both a diplomat and life fellow.
Hardin is vice chair of the BSC
Board of Trustees’ Institutional
Advancement Committee.
Counsel
W. Michael Atchison ’65
Alum
News
’58
Dr. ST Kimbrough Jr.
,
known
to many by his professional name
of “Steven,” has had parallel
careers in music, academia,
and parish ministry. He served
United Methodist churches in
North Alabama, North Carolina,
New Jersey, and an international
congregation in Germany, and he
has taught on major theological
and university faculties in the U.S.
and Germany.
Kimbrough has also performed
with leading opera companies
and musical theaters in the U.S.
and Europe and recorded some
40
albums with nominations for Best Vocal Record of the Year.
Arabesque Records has just released his solo CD, Sacred Songs
of J. S. Bach. Another new CD, Songs for the Seasons, with
songs in German for each season of the year, is being released
in 2012 in Europe by VMS Recordings. His recording The Life of
Christ in Song was released in December 2011 in Singapore. The
website
lists all of his recordings. His
Christmas albums include Christmas on Broadway (Arabesque)
and The Wonder of Christmas (GMMP).
Kimbrough graduated from Duke Divinity School and holds a
Ph.D. in Old Testament and Semitic languages from Princeton
Theological Seminary. He is currently a research fellow of the
Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at the Duke Divinity
School and founder of The Charles Wesley Society. He is editor
of its journal Proceedings of The Charles Wesley Society and
author/editor of several books on Charles Wesley, including The
Manuscript Journal of The Reverend Charles Wesley, M.A., 2
vols. (2008). He has presented over 500 performances of his
one-person musical drama, “Sweet Singer,” on the life of Charles
Wesley on three continents.
He also is the author of 40 books including The Lyrical Theology
of Charles Wesley (2010) and A Pictorial History of Kaunas
United Methodist Church 1900-1944 with a Photo Gallery of
Early Lithuanian Methodism and the Renewed United Methodist
Church 1995-2011 (2011). The latter is a bilingual publication in
Lithuanian and English.
While with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United
Methodist Church, he founded its Global Praise Program and
edited over 18 books of international Christian song.
Kimbrough is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Birmingham-
Southern and received its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002.
He was also elected a few years ago to the BSC Music Hall of
Fame.
