VOL. 90 No.4 
The Madison legacy lives on 
By Albert Dittes 
During the last weekend of 
October, I had the privilege of being part 
of the centennial celebration of the 
medical school at Lorna Linda 
University by offering my book, Letters 
from Dr. Percy Magan, for sale at a 
table. 
The event was in a new 
centennial building for the medical 
school, and as I felt, people there 
recognized the name Percy Magan and 
bought the book documenting the part 
Lida Scott of Madison had in the rise of 
Lorna Linda. Business was steady 
during most of Friday, and I saw many 
distinguished looking people walk by 
my table. 
Madison was a big part of the 
centennial in the person of Vincent 
Mitzelfelt. He directed the symphony 
orchestra and choir for the two services 
in the Lorna Linda University Church. 
He graduated from medical school there 
in 1960 and has been as active in 
October-December, 2009 
music as medicine through the years. 
The bulletin insert mentioned that he 
had started his education at Madison 
College and then went on to Union 
College and Lorna Linda. 
Roger Hadley, dean of the 
medical school, said, "In planning 
we felt that if we wanted to do the 
music right, we should get Dr. 
Mitzelfelt to direct, and he gladly 
accepted." 
Dr. Vincent Mitzelfelt 
Center for Adventist Research 
Andrews University 
Berrien Springs Michigan 
His father, Harold Mitzelfelt, 
taught music at Madison College during 
the 1950's, and his sister, Patricia 
Mitzelfelt Silver, enjoyed a 
distinguished career as band director in 
several Adventist schools. 
Dr. Mitzelfelt, now semi-retired, 
lives with his wife Karin in Valencia ' 
Calif. He has three children: Ramona 
Lynn Evans of Los Angeles, Dawna 
Coote of Phoenix and son Bradley, a 
supervisor of San Bernardino County, 
Calif.; two stepchildren, Pia Roberge 
and Mischa Zirpel; three grandchildren; 
a brother, Richard of Albuquerque, 
N.M., and two sisters, Patricia Silver of 
Collegedale, Tenn., and Sylvia Cerrato 
ofMemphis, Tenn. 
The ASI Convention 
By Henry Scoggins 
Marjorie and I had the privilege to 
staff the Madison College Alumni booth 
at the ASI convention in Phoenix, Ariz., 
last August. This was our first 
opportunity to attend an ASI convention 
since our days as students at Madison 
when the forerunner of ASI would have 
its annual meeting at the College. It was 
indeed as inspiring and exciting as I 
remembered. It was amazing to see the 
large number and the variety of 
organizations and ministries that were 
represented. A sign at the Madison 
Alumni booth proclaimed Madison as 
the "Birthplace of ASI". That caught the 
attention of folks and we had the 
opportunity to explain how the concept 
of "self supporting" work and laymen's 
ministries grew out of EG White's vision 
of the work that Madison should do. 
Few people knew of Madison or the role 
Mrs. White had in the development of 
the concept of independent ministries. 
A few Madison alumni stopped by and 
were glad to see their old school 
represented. I believe that it is important 
that Madison continue to be represented 
at the ASI conventions and that hand out 
materials be developed to tell the 
"Madison story" and of the unique work 
that "self supporting missionaries" were 
to be trained to do. The experiences of 
the Madison pioneers will continue to be 
a source of inspiration to those who 
continue the work they began. 
Henry '61 and Margie Hancock 
Scoggins '63 hosted the Madison 
College alumni booth. Here they pose 
with two friends who worked for Henry 
when he was CEO of Hackettstown 
Adventist Hospital in New Jersey: Carol 
Fremling, left, and Roy Burgess, right. 
Mark your calendars 
Next alumni weekend 
June 18, 19, 2010 
Louie Dickman, featured speaker 
Other Madison alumni at ASI 
were John Reed '53, center and Charles 
Wang '52, right. John's son David (left) 
came to sign his new book Dinosaurs, 
An Adventist View. 
90 Years Old and Still Working 
Madison alumni still on the job 
"Orvan Thompson's life has 
taken him from a boyhood on a 
Canadian farm to his job as a sitter for 
Vanderbilt Home Health, and, at the age 
of90, he is Vanderbilt Medical Center's 
oldest working nurse," proclaims the 
House Organ. 
A cover photo shows Evelyn and 
Orvan Thompson as a young military 
couple, with Orvan in uniform. They 
have been married for 66 years, 
according to the story. 
"Thompson, who trained as a nurse in 
the 1940's and still works as a sitter for 
Vanderbilt Home Care Services, has 
nearly a full head of silvery hair and a 
mustache to match, " according to the 
story. "His glasses are thin and his gait 
is sure and steady." 
The author indicated he works on-call 
on a 3-to-ll p.m. shift. "He is usually 
called in twice a week but once worked a 
21-day stretch." 
Thompson was born the month World 
War I ended in 1918, grew up on a 
Canadian farm and read the 193 8 
Reader's Digest article about Madison 
College preparing students for careers in 
agriculture, industry, teaching and health 
care. 
He went to Madison College, 
studied nursing and met his wife as a 
fellow nursing student. 
The Thompsons bought a house in 
Madison in 19 50 and raised four 
children. They still live in that same 
house. 
From our Readers 
Carol (Hilgers) Kunau retired on 
Sept. 30, 2009, after more than 40 years 
of nursing. She has worked in nearly 
every phase of nursing from floor nurse 
to Vice president of Nursing Services. 
She and her husband Rit are moving 
from Oregon to Apopka, Florida for the 
winter to be near their children and two 
granddaughters. 
* * * * 
Dear Survey Staff, 
"I want you to know how much I 
appreciate and love Madison news and 
going down memory lane. The more we 
mature in life the more precious our 
memories become ... especially those at 
Madison. It was awesome being at a 
school where the standards set by my 
wonderful mother were also exampled 
among the staff and students! I am taken 
back to yesteryear of all the outstanding 
teachers, friends and those that made our 
daily walk sweet ... for example deans, 
kitchen, laundry and farm staff ... 
thinking also about all the buildings, 
singing, speeches, orchestra and choral. 
I especially remember the time Elder 
Welch took us for a nature walk through 
the woods on a lovely Sabbath 
afternoon--in my scrapbook still remains 
the Red Oak Leaf and a Honey Locust 
Branch reminding me of that awesome 
journey! Elder Welch was one of a kind 
... always tender, gentle and with sweet 
love for His Master! I am so awed at the 
innocence of those times ... wishing 
that the cruelty of time and awakenings 
did not have to be, meaning having done 
and said things that were not of good 
character! 
"My children are doing well. 
Ramona lives in West Covina. Debra 
does occupational therapy in San Diego 
as well as works with autistic children. 
Billy is a urologist at Alaska Native 
Medical Center, Anchorage. Louis 
LaMar lives in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., 
and is taking some time out to spend 
quality time with his parents. 
"I am including my new address for 
the Survey and hope that my classmates 
and others will write to me:" 
Ramona Seath-Lubke 
130 Maple St. 
Big Rapids, MI 49307 
(231 )-796-4 7 48 
Editor's note: Ramona has written 
Take My Hand, Walk With Me, an 
Angel Award Winner as is also a vocal 
CD ofhers entitled "Ramona, Serenity." 
**** 
Dear Mr. Dittes 
"You really ought to have e-mail 
communication so that Madison College 
alumni and friends could easily send 
information and queries for the Madison 
Survey. You must have a computer in 
your office connected to the Internet and 
someone who can use a keyboard. E-
mail is free and easy after that. My own 
address is museo8o@yahoo.com. 
"Not to tell you how to run your 
business (as president/ editor), but I was 
intrigued by the short note you printed 
from Eloise Young Jackson of 
Jacksonville, Fla., in the last issue asking 
" ... do you have any record of 
Professor James Tillman?" 
"Mrs. Jackson (are you Edith Eloise 
Young J. ?) you asked about Profess_or 
James Tillman. You must be refernng to 
my very good friend of those long ago 
days who lived in Cottage 9 with Clyde. 
Vance, who had a distinguished career In 
the U.S. Army. (Robert Shalkop and I 
rounded out our little club of four.) 
Because of the impending U.S. 
participation in World War II and the 
need of many students to leave campus 
to work and transfer to accredited 
colleges, we lost touch. I knew he 
. 
continued his education at the University 
of Tennessee and was a highly regarded 
member of its faculty until his 
retirement. Many years after we had lost 
touch I read an article on the front page 
of a newspaper citing Tillman's 
breakthrough invention in the 
improvement of radar detection, so 
important in the Navy and in aviation. 
"Since you call him "Professor," are 
you referring to his long career at UT or, 
wild idea, after the war did he return to 
Madison College for a while as head of 
the physics department? That would 
have been especially interesting since he 
had been expelled from the College at 
least once for going roller skating at a 
rink, an activity and exercise he loved. 
All of my friends and I were fond of 
Madison College and valued highly the 
opportunity it gave us to begin our 
higher education. Since you mention 
Jack Weeks, whom I remember, you 
may be around my age and we might 
have known each other (though not 
being guilty of that great sin of 
"Conspicuous Association." Remember 
that?) 
George Ellis Burcaw 
Madison College 1939-1941 
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology 
University of Idaho 
• * * * 
"I wish I could make the 
Homecoming but doubt if I ever will get 
back that way again. 
"I first attended Madison after high 
school graduation for one year. Then I 
became involved with a weekly 
newspaper until I was called into the 
army. After discharge I returned to 
Madison and graduated in 1958 with a 
Bachelors degree in Business 
Administration and Secondary 
Education. I taught the seventh and 
eighth grades at Wytheville, Va., for one 
year and then joined the Wytheville 
Hospital and helped start the short-lived 
Echo Valley Academy. I left Wytheville 
in 1961 to take over the weekly 
newspaper I had worked on during high 
school. I did this until it suspended 
publication in 1976. 
"During the time of operating the 
newspaper I also was asked to do some 
of the accounting for a new community 
hospital located 16 miles east of town. 
During this time I served for over 15 
years on the board of directors of the 
local school district, first as secretary 
and then president. I was also appointed 
to serve as town magistrate and then 
became Mayor, serving terms over the 
next 20 years. Part of my active "business" 
life also included operating a "general" 
store that I closed in 2000 and retired. 
"I did have a stroke in 1990 that still 
handicaps me some as far as a good 
walking pace. 
"I have been back to Madison two times 
since I returned to Colorado. There was so 
much change I was disappointed. I always 
felt Madison had some very unique 
buildings, such as the library. 
"In my retirement I volunteer with the 
local community radio station, doing the 
scheduling with a software program. 
"Again I sure wish I could be there and 
visit with the many people I think of often. 
I would love to hear from anyone who 
remembers me. My address is P .0. Box 
13, Parachute, CO., 81635, and my e-mail 
address is:" floydmac30@comcast.net. 
Floyd McDaniel 
News Notes 
New CEO at Fletcher 
Dale Twomley is the new president 
of Fletcher Academy. Dr. Twomley 
has served as Dean of the School of 
Business at Andrews University, 
CEO of Worthington Foods and as 
principal of Mt. Vern on and 
Shenandoah Valley Academies. 
New President at Laurelbrook 
Ron Oxentenko is the new president 
of Laurelbrook School and 
Sanitarium. Ron has been the 
Project Manager for an accounting 
software package produced by 
DacEasy Accounting Systems. Later 
he was the Office Manager for Jerry 
Eller's Forestry Service Company. 
Most recently he has managed his 
own construction company in 
Florida. Ron is an alumnus of 
Laurelbrook from the class of '85. 
* * * * 
*Bill and Marie Sandborn celebrated 
their 50
1h wedding anniversary in 
Fletcher, N.C. They have three sons, 
one deceased daughter and one 
grandson. 
* * * * 
*Jack and Nancy Gibbons have 
just moved to Hamburg, Pa., to be 
near their daughter Nancy Lynn 
(Doug) Stewart on the campus of 
Blue Mountain Academy. 
Alumni weddings 
*Jodi Eulene Dodson and David 
Patterson were married on Nov. 29 
in Chattanooga, Tenn. 
Jodi Eulene has four children: Loni 
Batiste and John Borton, California; 
Linda McCabe, Pennsylvania, and Kim 
Dodson (step-son), Tennessee. 
"Most of the Madison alumni will 
remember me as Eulene Borton; I sang 
in the Silvertones, was secretary to Billy 
Wilson at the Academy and later in 
charge of dictation in the Medical 
Records Office. My past years were 
taken up with child rearing, home 
making, composing music, choir 
directing and singing. 
"David has six children: Alan, South 
Carolina, Paul, Gloria and Barry, 
Tennessee, Norma and Michael, North 
Carolina; and graduated from Madison 
College Industrial Education department. 
"After serving in the army, he taught 
and served at Harbert Hills Academy for 
17 years plus various self-supporting and 
conference schools in teaching and 
Business Managerial positions. He is 
now on the adjunct faculty of Southern 
Adventist University and at Chattanooga 
State. He is also a volunteer tutor, a 
museum Docent and fills other volunteer 
opportunities. In addition to this, David 
has been the organist in a variety of 
churches and is now one of the organist 
at their home church where he and Jodi 
Eulene met in choir. David is also a bird 
enthusiast and has written articles, one 
of which is in a Moscow museum." 
*Lloyd (Joe) Wilson, whose 
family moved to Madison in 1938, 
married Carol Hite Wilson at the 
Madison Boulevard SDA Church on 
Nov. 7, 2009. Their friendship began 
after moving to nearby Cumberland 
Towers about three years ago. 
More pictures from 
Alumni Weekend 
Patricia Mitzelfelt Silver played 
her trumpet extra well during her 
student and teaching career at 
Madison. One of her students, Jim 
Closser (center), now director of 
development at the Middle 
Tennessee School of Anesthesia at 
Madison, and Les Andrus from the 
community joined her in furnishing 
must c. 
Stella Sutherland, Irma Trivett 
with daughter Beverly Rawson and 
Viola Knight 
'St; fl. t!u.t.tad 
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Esther (Meinsinger) Sutton '64, 
Howard Sutton '64 and George Stilwell 
'64. Esther and Howard prepared the 
Friday supper and Sunday breakfast for 
attendees, along with Becky Rosenboom 
and Elaine Cantrell. 
Deaths 
Edna Baker 
Uriel Van Campen Guest 
New addresses wanted 
George C. Barnett 
Vera M. Bergman 
David and Rose Couch 
Beatrice Dunn 
Clyde P. Holland 
Almon Johnson 
Brynda Jean Johnson 
Geraldine Ralis 
James F. Roberts 
Arthur V anderboss 
Alice B. Wilson 
Madison Survey 
Albert Dittes, President/Editor 
(Aldittes@aol.com) 
George Stilwell, Assistant 
Glenda Sheffield Clark, Assistant 
P.O. Box 1735 
Madison, TN 37116-1735 
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