For Them All A Safe Haven

Robert Duncan McJimsey

March 9, 1936 – September 3, 2009

Robert Duncan McJimsey died September 3, 2009, in Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs, CO. He was born March 9, 1936 in Dallas, TX to Harriet (Tilden) McJimsey and Joseph Bailey McJimsey. He spent his early childhood years in Houston, TX, and in 1944 moved to Ames, IA. He graduated from Ames High School in 1954 and from Grinnell College in 1958 where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He held various elective offices in both high school and college including president of the Grinnell College student body. He also participated in athletics, most prominently, basketball and track. After graduating from college, Bob spent a year as a Rotary Club scholar, studying English history at the University of London. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted his research on a Fulbright Fellowship in England. He taught briefly at Oberlin College and Ohio Wesleyan University, and in 1968, he joined the Colorado College History Department. In addition to teaching British and European history, Bob enjoyed teaching interdisciplinary courses with colleagues in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. He served on college committees and was a long-time officer of the Western Conference on British Studies.

On June 24, 1961, in Leamington, ON, Canada, Bob married Marianna Josephine Presler. They have three children, Elizabeth, George and Katharine who grew up in their home on East San Miguel Street where their friends were always welcome. Bob was an active member of Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church serving on several vestries, as junior warden and senior warden and as a Stephen minister. He was also a member of The Round Table.

No recital of these bare facts can capture the fullness of Bob McJimsey. Bob was a loving family man who put his wife and family first, proud of their accomplishments and their character and always ready to support and comfort them. He gave the same level of care to his children’s spouses and his grandchildren. For them all, he was a safe haven.

Bob was imaginative and creative. He enjoyed making up games and stories. He especially put his creativity into his teaching, always eager to find new ways to inspire his students’ intellectual curiosity. Bob believed in the liberal arts mission of teaching life’s lessons and possibilities. If you wanted to understand diplomacy and power, he would say, read Thucydides on the Peloponnesian Wars; if you wanted to understand the human spirit, read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

Warm, understanding and supportive, Bob was a wonderful friend. Whether engaging in light-hearted debate with colleagues on his patio, trading favorite movie moments at a dinner party or offering support or advice to a friend in need, he was generous in conversation and genuine in his affection for the opportunity and experience. He was also terrifically funny. He had a matchless wit for the particular situation, usually a quip or an aside that kept you from taking life too seriously and increased your enjoyment of his company. He relished this aspect of life and equally appreciated it in others. You left his presence with a lighter spirit.

Bob is survived by his wife of 48 years, Marianna; his daughter Elizabeth Souder, her husband Will and children Emily, Abigail, Jack and Ben of Overland Park, KS; George McJimsey, his wife Brenna and children Rowan and Malcolm of Albuquerque, NM; Katharine McJimsey and her husband Michael Wood of Chicago, IL; his twin brother George and his wife Sandra of Ames, IA; his brothers-in-law Henry Presler, Franklin Presler and Titus Presler and their spouses and Wesley Presler; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. We will miss him and keep him in our hearts forever.

A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, September 11, 4-7 p.m. at the Swan Law Funeral Home, 501 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO. The funeral service and inurnment will be held on Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m., at Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 601 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, CO. A reception will follow the service in the Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, Bob asked that memorials be made to the Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Restoration Fund (Grace and St. Stephen’s Church, 601 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903) or to The Colorado College Scholarship Fund (Development Office, Colorado College, PO Box 1117, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-9897).

[Thank you, Don, for sharing this one with me!]

One Simply Could Not Ignore

Mary Ellen Bright, 97, passed peacefully away from this world on April 16, 2009. A Celebratory Open house where memories and stories can be shared is set from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 7 at the home of Leah and Chris Petri, 3000 Belmont Circle in Austin.

She was born Mary Ellen Taylor in Pittsburgh, Penn., on November 3, 1911. Upon the death of her mother in 1917, she and her two older sisters were raised by their beloved spinster aunts.

While in Sarasota, Florida on vacation in 1933, she met Dunning Bright, who had unhappily canceled a fishing trip and took Mary Ellen on a blind date to a tea dance. He joined his friends at the dance but soon noticed that all of his friends were lining up to dance with someone; his date. He quickly reconsidered his situation and it was then that he was hooked and reeled in for life. He learned something that night; one simply could not ignore Mary Ellen.

They married in Memphis, Tenn. in 1935, and took the train to Dallas where they set up housekeeping. Just before Pearl Harbor in 1941, they bought Kelly Smith Cleaners in Austin. It was a time when Austin was a small college town and great friendships were made with doctors, lawyers, politicians and businessmen that lasted the rest of their lives; their’s was “the Greatest Generation.”

Everyone looked forward to the Bright’s annual oyster parties with barrels of oysters in the garage, Mary Ellen meeting people at the door with her electric smile and her clam chowder. She was gifted with quick wit and entertained everyone with her endless sense of humor and charm.

She spent her last years living in the country outside Bryan with her daughter “Dede’ , where everyone thought she wouldn’t “find trouble” but of course everyone was wrong. Even into her 90’s she could cause a commotion of some sort that would cause heads to shake and tears of laughter to fall shamelessly down one’s cheeks. She has left behind a wealth of stories and a family who will miss her mightily.

Survivors include her daughter, Rosemary “Dede” Bright; and son, Dunning Bright and wife Patti; her four grandchildren, Trey Hanover and wife Stephanie, Leah Petri and husband Chris, Bonnie Bright and Katie Bright, also known as “Granny”; great-grandchildren, Cuatro and Kendall Hanover and Walker and Hughes Petri; her dear friends, most of whom have been patiently waiting for her on the other shore, she was “Chip” or “M.E.”, a cohort, confidante and ethereal pied piper whose charm, wit and sparkling countenance made their circle complete and their lives never boring.

In lieu of flowers the family respectfully asks you to consider donating to Hospice of Brazos Valley in Bryan or the Hearne Nursing Center in Hearne. Two fine organizations that gave her wonderful and tender care while sharing our appreciation fo her spunky humor to the end.

Don’t Wear Black

December 1, 1930 – May 1, 2009

Mary Helen Lovan, 78, of Bryan passed away on Friday, May 1, 2009, at Christus Dubuis Hospital in Bryan. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 4, at Hillier Funeral Home. Services are set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 5, at First United Methodist of Bryan. Burial will be on Thursday, May 7, at Laurel Oaks Cemetery in Windsor, Mo.

Mary was born on December 1, 1930, in Windsor, Mo., to Ernest and Dimple McKenzie Johnson. Mary came from a large family, being the ninth of eleven children. Her early years laid the foundation for a lifetime of love and devotion to her family and friends.

Mary graduated from high school in Windsor, Mo., where she met and fell in love with the man of her dreams, Ronald Lovan. Mary and Ron were married in Windsor on July 8, 1950. On their honeymoon in St. Louis, they attended a St. Louis Browns baseball game and dined and danced on a paddle-wheeler on the Mississippi River. Their first child, Teresa Gayle, was born in San Rafael, Calif., on August 15, 1952 while Ron was serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. In keeping with Ron’s love of baseball and Mary’s devotion to Ron, she would have the daily baseball scores ready to share with Ron every evening.

Upon Ron’s discharge from the U.S. Air Force, they returned from Tacoma, Wash., to their home in Windsor. On March 6, 1955, their second child, Gary Eugene, was born. While working as a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine company, Ron gave Mary the machine that she used for the rest of her life to share her love of sewing with her family and friends.

Ron and Mary moved to Sedalia, Mo., in 1956 where their third child, Susan Elaine, was born on April 25, 1961. During the following ten years they raised their family in an atmosphere of faith, love and food. Mary’s gift for cooking was shared not only with her family but with many others over the years. She passed along her love of baking and many of those recipes have become known as comfort foods for family and friends alike. In 1995, Mary won the trophy for best cookie baker in the whole entire Brazos Valley.

In 1971, Ron and Mary moved to Bryan, where she was a member of First United Methodist Church in Bryan for more than 38 years and was a member of the Neighborly Sunday School Class, the Morning Bible/Mission Study and the United Methodist Women. She was also a Howdy Buddy, and a member of the Red Hat Society and enjoyed playing Bingo and making crafts at Waldenbrooke Estates where she and Ron lived. Mary was known far and wide for her hugs, smiles and cookies. Most importantly, she adored and doted on her grandchildren who affectionately called her “Mimi.”

Survivors include her husband of more than 58 years, Ronald Lovan; two daughters and sons-in-law, Teresa and Russ Gabbert of Kansas City, Mo., Susan and David O’Neal of Bryan and Gary and Krys Lovan of Battle Ground, Wash.; grandchildren, Erin Van Cleave, Adriane LaCaze and Caitlyn Gabbert, all of Kansas City, Brandon Lovan of Edwards, Colo., Garrett Lovan of Bryan, Erin O’Neal of Beaumont, Texas, Dustin O’Neal of Houston and Lindsey, Austin and Mackenzie O’Neal of Bryan; great-grandchildren, Brenna Van Cleave, Emma and Jackson Humplik and Grace and Josie O’Neal; three sisters, Ann Dial of Jacksonville, Fla., Doris Hale of Baton Rouge, La., and Dorothy Alexander and husband, Dwight, of Clinton, Mo.; sister-in-law and best friend, Linda Marchbanks and husband, Bill, and their children Scott and Valerie and families; and by many other nieces, nephews and friends, whom she adored.

In celebration of Mary’s life, please join family members in wearing colorful attire at her service. She always loved the bright colors of spring. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the many people who cared for her during her last months. Our family is at peace in knowing that our mom is in a happy place in the arms of her Lord.