The Doctor is in.

June 2016

Jean Elizabeth Sleight, B.A.,
Magna Cum Laude

Jean graduated from SPU on June 11, 2016 with a B.A. in Theatre, (Performance emphasis) and a minor in Computer Science, certainly a unique combination.

Her final quarter grades were all A's (with one of those being an A-) which raised her final GPA to 3.82. She wore her red University Scholars honor stole, two honor cords, and a bent nail on a ribbon, a Theatre tradition.

As a faculty parent, I got a front row seat (and a hug when she came off of the platform.) In fact, I got to march in to Key Arena first, right behind the faculty marshal and the Platform party.

At the moving Ivy Cutting ceremony the day before, she was stationed with a number of her Theatre and U Scholar classmates right in front of the speaker's podium.

Cousin Katherine attended Ivy Cutting and Uncle Randy made it to Commencement. Susan was on a bike trip through Italy, but the rest of the clan was there.

Below left, Jean poses with Dr. Scranton, who served as a reader on her honors project. She also played Regan opposite his King Lear.

After the Ivy Cutting ceremony, the Theatre majors had agreed to meet on the steps in front of McKinley Auditorium.

And now, as the official Chapter Secretary for Beta Gamma Sigma, I enjoyed wearing the Beta Gamma Sigma medallion with my regalia.

I only half-joke that now that my youngest child has graduated, the "golden handcuffs" are off and I feel free to retire. But, at least this summer I'm feeling like I could continue another eight years, until I am 69. I suspect my health will dictate the actual decision.

I took pictures of Jean with her honors project poster, in the Green Room where she spent so much of her time with her Theatre friends, and opposite her production photos along the walls of the Theatre. This one is of her in The Miracle Worker.

Now graduated, she is spending most weeknights and some weekends in rehearsals for her two summer shows, The Little Mermaid and Much Ado About Nothing. She's learning to navigate the Washington State Ferries.

Professor Elaine Weltz gave her an A grade for the last credit in her minor, but she will continue to work on the Theatre archives database project that she started.

And one of these days she'll start looking seriously for a day job to support her life in the theatre.

Who would have thought that all three children would have such stellar experiences at college?

Jean's Honors Project:
A Screenplay of The Thief

Jean organized a complete formal reading of her screenplay of her favorite book, The Thief. Many of her Theatre Department friends agreed to conduct the reading. So, on the evening of Wednesday, June 1st, in the large Demaray Hall 150 auditorium she had reserved, a modest crowd which included Dr. George Scranton, listened to the entire story. It was a well organized and entertaining event.

A twenty minute portion of her writing had been performed at an earlier Theatre event, and many there had been sufficiently hooked on the story to want to hear the whole thing.

A Fifth Summer in Matthew at the
Emerald Heights Retirement Community

Matthew chapter 1: "This is the promised point in history when the Artist of the Universe paints Himself onto the canvas of time. God Himself takes on a human body, in the most human of ways – by being born, and growing up in Roman occupied 1st century Palestine."

Matthew chapter 2: (Regarding the Bethlehem star.) "But I want to point out that of first importance – this was a supernatural event. The Designer and Architect of all matter and energy was stepping into human history. If he wanted to install a celestial spotlight to announce to the galaxy, 'It’s a Boy!', well, . . . it’s His universe."

Matthew 5:1-12: Let me put these three Beatitudes together. Peacemaking is showing mercy with a pure heart in tangible ways. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, befriending the outcast, visiting the lonely. These are all examples of peace●making - making wholeness. Peacemakers build community - they are reconcilers. . . .

Peacemaking is active, not passive. Like showing mercy or acting out of a pure heart, peacemaking does good stuff. These three Beatitudes are the helping ones. If the first four spoke of our helplessness before God, these three speak of our helpfulness toward others.

I covered one chapter of Matthew's gospel each week from chapter 1 through 4, and got through just the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) at the halfway point through my ten week series this summer. I believe these are very high quality lessons, but I am spending nearly every spare moment preparing each lesson for the upcoming Thursday morning. As usual, the teacher learns the lessons best.

I learned the opening line to the Sh'ma in Hebrew for an illustration in Matthew 4. Sh'ma Yisra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. (Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.) Later I came across my friend Rick Hebron, a campus maintenance man at SPU. Rick ran Cross Country and Track at West Seattle and ran a 9:31 two mile. His younger brother Gordy was the fastest senior when Randy was the team captain when I was a sophomore. Gordy is already retired, and Rick will retire in three months. Rick and I were in Dr. Owen Ewald's Greek class together. Well, I said the line to Rick to check my pronunciation (he politely corrected the "echad"), then he rattled off the entire prayer in Hebrew, not just its opening line, from memory. Well, his last name is Hebron!

Dorla Jean Kittoe

1930-2016

"Dorla Jean Kittoe (Maiden Name Graff) born April 18, 1930 to John and Marjorie Graff, died at age 86 on May 29, 2016. Born in Jamestown North Dakota, she moved with her family to Seattle in her early teens. She passed quietly while suffering from Late Stage Dementia. She is survived by a daughter and son as well as many grand and great grandchildren who will miss her deeply. Funeral Service will be held from 11:30am to 12:30pm, Friday, June 3rd at Sunset Hills Memorial Park, 1215 145th Pl SE, Bellevue, WA 98007"

Aunt Dorla was our final aunt to pass away. I understand she was only 16 when she married Uncle Barry. She loved the "good life" but the one word that best described her was "generous." Their children were Connie, Barry Allen, and Kyle. Cousin Barry passed away about 18 months ago. Kyle handled the funeral arrangements. Connie was able to locate me at SPU and I was able to share the news with Don, Randy, and Laurie.

George Alfred Scott
September 2, 1925 – June 9, 2016

George A. (Jim) Scott went to be with his Heavenly Father on June 9, 2016. He was born and raised in Aberdeen, WA, graduating from Weatherwax H.S. in 1943. He was active in church youth groups and the Boy Scouts. He loved the ocean and the mountains, with a special fondness for Mt. Rainier where he learned to ski at the age of three.

George served in WWII in Europe as a Sergeant in the Combat Engineers, receiving a Purple Heart. Returning to U of WA, he graduated cum laude in mechanical engineering in 1949. At that time, he was inducted into Tau Beta Phi and the science honorary Sigma Xi as well as being active in the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. He met his wife to be, Suzanne Leonardy, at University Presbyterian Church and they were later married there on August 5, 1950.

He began his career of 36 years with General Electric which included mechanical engineering with thirteen patents to his name, international sales for GE and management at six different locations. In 1966 he was given the Master Design Award for his work in developing the self-cleaning range. He also developed GE’s first microwave oven of which the first prototype was used and tested by his large and busy family. While in Kentucky, he was awarded the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel and given the Key to My Old Kentucky Home.

In 1986, he retired from GE corporate headquarters as Manager of Engineering Management Consulting. Following retirement, he and his wife spent three months in Indonesia where George worked as a volunteer management consultant with International Executive Service Corporation. After returning to Connecticut, they began planning the move west to Redmond, WA to be closer to both his and Suzanne’s roots.

Throughout his adult life, he enjoyed serving in leadership positions in various Presbyterian churches as a deacon or elder. He served on three sessions and as a delegate to the Presbytery and Synod as well as sitting on the Permanent Judicial Committee of the Presbytery. Other service experiences included being President of the Fern Creek, KY Lions Club, building projects, Sunday School teacher, Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers of America – (Bridgeport, CT Chapter) and serving on numerous committees at the Emerald Heights Retirement Community.

George and Sue loved to travel. In their lifetimes they visited all 50 states and managed to see most of the world, traveling to all seven continents and visiting over 80 countries.

George is survived by his wife of 65 years, Suzanne, three children: Susan Strong (Blair), Cynthia Sandor (Dan), and David Scott (Jan); seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. His brother, Walter, and two daughters, Mary Kay and Sharon, preceded him in death.

Memorial services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 21 at Emerald Heights Retirement Community, 10901 176th Circle NE, Redmond, WA. Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to Bellevue Presbyterian Church or to the Emerald Heights Benevolence Fund.

George was a mentor of mine. A mentor is more than a friend. He was more of a father figure who was wise, humorous (in a dry way), and a faithful man of God. He was not afraid to correct me, and I usually recognized that he was in the right. My last five summers of Bible teaching at Emerald Heights are a direct result of his recommendation. It is the responsibility of the Elders of a congregation to recognize and call out the gifts of its members for the service of the body.

On my first visit to Emerald Heights this month on June 2nd, I learned that he was in the hospital, and he passed away a week later, the day of my second June Bible class. He heard and approved of my lessons from the previous four summers.

The picture above is the last one I took of George, sitting at my right at lunch last August. Like I told the men of our Saturday Bible study group, where George was a faithful member for over twenty years, I will miss him until I see him again.

1335 99th Avenue N.E. June Update

The windows are in and I saw that the electrical was being completed. Perhaps in July the siding will go on and we'll learn what color the new addition to 99th Avenue NE will be.

I Win Again!

SPU held a campus celebration of the 125th anniversary of the first Board of Trustees meeting of Seattle Seminary, June 24, 1891. As part of the festivities, a raffle was held. Five copies of the book Rooted in Mission: The Founding of Seattle Pacific University 1891-1916 were the prizes. Kathy Stegman already had the book, purchased as a gift for her Free Methodist pastor husband Jim, and had given me her ticket. That was the winning number for the last book!

Bits and Pieces

♦ The demise of Edward T. Sloan. What is it with me and men named Ed? They become my good friends and then exit my life under questionable circumstances. My best man, Ed Haynes, divorced and remarried, causing me to lose respect for him. Coach and BCS teacher Ed Sloan is in a world of hurt after old allegations of misconduct with a minor surfaced. His guilt is only alleged. Dr. Al Erisman from SPU, and a leader at BCS for many years, has met with Ed over the past three months and feels he has been unjustly accused. I am sad to lose these friends.

Ed was the head coach of both the Cross Country and Track and Field teams at Bellevue Christian School. The news report of his possible moral failings, and the lax oversight by the Bellevue Christian School administration make it hard for me to imagine returning to BCS as their sports photographer after twelve years of service. But I will not decide until I learn more. This issue had to come to a head. It's a sad season for the school that did so much for my children. It took the nightclub massacre in Orlando to push this story off of the local news.

♦ I predicted Pearl's death within twelve hours. Her lively scamper had come to an end and she no longer got up to avoid being stepped on. She preferred to lay on the rug in the hallway where normally hot water tubes in the floor would have kept her warm. About three months ago she started losing weight and not keeping food down. A trip to the vet moved her to a special diet. But we never got an accurate diagnosis.

When she arrived at home in November 2009, she was aloof and dangerous. But she was beautiful. (Sounds like my 3rd girlfriend.) But for the past few years I could rub noses with her without (much) fear of her claws. But like every pet, Pearl will be missed. And like every death, Nancy seems to take it the hardest.

♦ Long time family friend Wen Wha Hsu passed away this month. I wrote about the passing of her husband, Ching Fang Hsu, in April 2005. Bob and Ginger Rutherford were Deacons at University Presbyterian Church when they first took the Hsu family under their care. They were refugees from Communist China via Korea and came to the U.S. in January 1957. At that time, they had three boys. Ron was the oldest, Larry was Susan's age and Richard was Nancy's age. Early on, the Hsu's could not speak English and were not Christians. (Wen's English was never good.) Here in the U.S. Mary and Ruth joined the Hsu kids.

The Hsu's and Rutherford's were close from then on. Out of respect for their sponsors, the Hsu's attended University Presbyterian Church. In time, the entire family came to the Lord. Ching and Bob would talk business. Ching started three Chinese restaurants, "each more magnificent than the one before." (The first one was quite modest.) The Harbin name came from the Chinese province north of Korea. They were the first to introduce northern Chinese (Mandarin) cuisine to Seattle. They became quite successful. Much of that success was due to the head cook, Wen Hsu. All the children became successful professionals.

The Hsu's met with other Chinese Christians in Seattle and decided a Chinese-speaking congregation was needed. Wen was the last of the founding members to "go home." We attended her funeral at the church she and Ching helped to found.

"Evangelical Chinese Church began as a small group of overseas students and families who met for fellowship on college campuses. Under the leadership of the Rev. Paul Shen, the church was founded in 1967 with the vision to provide fellowship and witness for the Lord to new Mandarin-speaking Chinese immigrants settling in the Greater Seattle area. The Lord has really blessed us to become a multi-generational, multi-language (Mandarin, Cantonese and English) and multi-campus church. In addition, we have planted three other churches, one in Tacoma, one in Snohomish and one in South King County."

The impact of Wen's passing on the Bellevue Sleight's is that by the end of this month a wide selection of nice furniture which the Hsu family did not want is now at our house or Susan's awaiting new homes with Annie and Thomas and especially Nathanael and Cynthia.

My Quotes from June

“... the typical worker who through the whole of his life...pursues the idea of a certain artificial and elegant repose which he may never arrive at, for which he sacrifices a real tranquility...It is this deception which rouses and keeps in continual motion the industry of mankind.”

― Adam Smith

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

― Matthew 6:28b-30

The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of.

-- C. S. Lewis

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?

-- David Livingstone

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