Hope College April 2012 : Page 19

Alumni News few years ago National Geographic teamed up with author and explorer Dan Buettner to publish a cover story about blue zones, listing places where people lived longer and better. If Hope alumna Alice Brower ’23 Hoffs were representative of West Michigan, they would have to add another location to their list. As I write, it is February 25, and Mrs. Hoffs is celebrating her 110th birthday. Forget cliché comments about the invention of black and white television, when she was born Nathan Stubblefield had just made the first public scott Travis ’06 demonstration of radio . Director of Alumni and She made the trip to Hope from her Parent Relations hometown of Hamilton, Mich., soon after the first Ford rolled off an assembly line. Edward D. Dimnent was president of Hope when she arrived, and his vision for a Memorial Chapel was not yet complete. On her way to class she passed some of today’s familiar landmarks, including Van Vleck, the President’s Home, and Voorhees. She also walked alongside Van Raalte Hall and Carnegie Gymnasium, now only memories. After majoring in English and music and chartering the Sibylline sorority, Alice graduated in 1923, during the same spring the first nonstop transcontinental flight was completed. She subsequently taught in Wayland, Michigan for two years. She married Dr. Marinus Hoffs ’24 in 1927 and settled in Lake Odessa, Michigan, where she was a volunteer organist at Central Methodist Church for 42 years. The span of history her life covers is impressive and inspiring. In fact, according to the Gerontology Research Group, Alice is one of only about 70 confirmed “supercentenarians” in the entire world. With our planet’s population approaching seven billion, her longevity is extremely impressive. While I’m not privy to her secret for a long life, I do know that the entry in the college’s 1923 yearbook reads, “what a sweet delight a quiet life affords.” Perhaps Alice, like those living in Buettner’s blue zones around the world, is on to something. A to Hope’s Window History easy-does-it as members of the faculty and staff carefully load (or perhaps unload) what is presumably an instrument at the northwestern entrance to Nykerk Hall of music. Along with providing desperately needed space and its major performance and pedagogical advantages, discussed on pages six and seven, the college’s new concert hall and music facility will feature a more user-friendly design than Nykerk, but what is particularly striking in this 1960s-era photo (at least, News from Hope College thinks so) is the vintage Volkswagen bus. Alumni Association Board of Directors executive Committee Lisa Bos ’97, President, Washington, D.C. Michael McCarthy ’85, Vice President, Weston, Mass. Anita Van Engen ’98 Bateman, Secretary, San Antonio, Texas Bob Bieri ’83, Past President, Holland, Mich. Board members Victoria Brunn ’84, Santa Monica, Calif. Andrea Converse ’12, Lowell, Mich. Holly Anderson ’90 DeYoung, Beaver Dam, Wis. Lori Visscher ’83 Droppers, Maitland, Fla. Brian Gibbs ’84, Bad Homburg, Germany Thomas Henderson ’70, Dayton, Ohio Todd Houtman ’90, Indianapolis, Ind. Sa’eed Husaini ’13, Jos, Nigeria Garry Kempker ’74, Kalamazoo, Mich. Thomas Kyros ’89, Grand Rapids, Mich. James McFarlin ’74, Decatur, Ill. Nancy Clair ’78 Otterstrom, Bethel, Conn. Elias Sanchez ’78, Hinsdale, Ill. Janice Day ’87 Suhajda, Rochester Hills, Mich. Carol Schakel ’68 Troost, Scotia, N.Y. Lois Tornga ’56 Veldman, Lansing, Mich. Arlene Arends ’64 Waldorf, Buena Vista, Colo. Colton Wright ’11, Tecumseh, Mich. liaisons Scott Travis ’06, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Beth Timmer ’00 Szczerowksi, Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Relations learn more about the Alumni Association online at www.hope.edu/alumni Class Notes Table of Contents 20 Class Notes: 1930s -1960s 22 Class Notes: 1970s 23 Class Notes: 1980s 24 Class Notes: 1980s -1990s 25 Class Notes: 1990s -2000s 27 Class Notes: 2000s, marriages, New Arrivals 28 Advanced Degrees, Deaths April 2012 19

Window to Hope’s History

Scott Travis

<br /> A few years ago National Geographic teamed up with author and explorer Dan Buettner to publish a cover story about blue zones, listing places where people lived longer and better. If Hope alumna Alice Brower ’23 Hoffs were representative of West Michigan, they would have to add another location to their list.<br /> <br /> As I write, it is February 25, and Mrs. Hoffs is celebrating her 110th birthday. Forget cliché comments about the invention of black and white television, when she was born Nathan Stubblefield had just made the first public demonstration of radio.<br /> <br /> She made the trip to Hope from her hometown of Hamilton, Mich., soon after the first Ford rolled off an assembly line. Edward D. Dimnent was president of Hope when she arrived, and his vision for a Memorial Chapel was not yet complete. On her way to class she passed some of today’s familiar landmarks, including Van Vleck, the President’s Home, and Voorhees. She also walked alongside Van Raalte Hall and Carnegie Gymnasium, now only memories.<br /> <br /> After majoring in English and music and chartering the Sibylline sorority, Alice graduated in 1923, during the same spring the first nonstop transcontinental flight was completed. She subsequently taught in Wayland, Michigan for two years. She married Dr. Marinus Hoffs ’24 in 1927 and settled in Lake Odessa, Michigan, where she was a volunteer organist at Central Methodist Church for 42 years. The span of history her life covers is impressive and inspiring.<br /> <br /> In fact, according to the Gerontology Research Group, Alice is one of only about 70 confirmed “supercentenarians” in the entire world. With our planet’s population approaching seven billion, her longevity is extremely impressive. While I’m not privy to her secret for a long life, I do know that the entry in the college’s 1923 yearbook reads, “what a sweet delight a quiet life affords.” Perhaps Alice, like those living in Buettner’s blue zones around the world, is on to something.

Hope College Alumni Association
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