Eric Gordon Wruck ’78 passed away Jan. 22 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Karen Hopper Wruck ’82, 2535 Sherwood Rd., Columbus, OH 43209, and by their beloved daughters, Alice, Clara, and Louisa. He is also survived by his parents, Esther Schmidt Wruck and Davidson College Professor Emeritus of German Erich-Oskar Wruck; his sister, Krista Wruck Norris ’83 (Steven); and by eight nieces and nephews. His sister, Karin Wruck Phillips, preceded him in death, following her own courageous battle with cancer. Wruck was born in Fort Sill, Okla., March 23, 1956, and spent most of his childhood years in Davidson. He graduated from Davidson with a degree in mathematics, going on to earn an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He worked as a consulting financial economist and statistician for the majority of his professional career, and most recently as a senior lecturer at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. Wruck was a devoted father and husband. He was also an avid college basketball fan, with a special interest in the Davidson Wildcats. A passionate follower of the folk music scene, Wruck served on the board of Six Strings Concerts and enjoyed identifying talented artists for their concert series. Memorials may be made in his name to Davidson College, Box 7174, Davidson, NC 28035-7174, which always held a special place in his heart.
Scott Alan Harbottle ’78
Scott Alan Harbottle ’78, of Cleveland, Ohio, passed away May 15. He was preceded in death by his mother, Eyvonne Butler Harbottle. He is survived by his sons, Thomas Scott and Alan Walter Harbottle; father, Lyman “Jug” Harbottle; sister, Lisa Bates ’82 (Thomas ’82); niece and nephews, Sara ’11, Tucker, and Hayden Bates; and companion and friend, Michael Gower. Harbottle cherished the time he spent with his sons, Tom and Alan. He was an active member of Liberation United Church of Christ and the North Coast Men’s Chorus. He worked for 19 years as a bankruptcy attorney for Key Bank. He enjoyed vacationing at the Outer Banks, music, travel, fitness, theatre, and socializing with close friends.
David Jefferson Arnold ’78
Dr. David Jefferson Arnold, 47, died Friday afternoon, December 3, 2004, in Birmingham, AL. He was born December 15, 1956 in Blakely, GA, to Margaret Boyett Arnold and the late William Franklin Arnold, Sr.
Dr. Arnold graduated Southwest Georgia Academy in 1974. He graduated Davidson College, Davidson, NC in 1978 with a bachelor of science degree with special attainments in chemistry. While at Davidson, he was also a member of the varsity football team, a freshman hall counselor his junior year and a member and officer of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He attended graduate school at Duke University, Durham, NC with a full tuition stipend provided through teaching and research. He received the degree of doctor of philosophy for studies in analytical electro-chemistry May 8, 1983. Dr. Arnold attended the School of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia and received a dean’s student research fellowship for his original research proposal “A Novel Potassium Micro-electrode.” He received the doctor of medicine degree June 5, 1987.
He served as a resident physician in the department of internal medicine at the University of Alabama Hospitals of Birmingham for three years. He was awarded a four-year Bugher Foundation Fellowship for the study of cardiology at the Baylor School of Medicine and Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. His specialty was electrophysiology. Dr. Arnold also received a North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology fellowship for research in cardiac pacing and an American Heart Association fellowship along with other professional awards and recognitions.
Upon completion of the fellowship, he became an assistant professor at Baylor and Methodist Hospital. He later joined a private practice in electrophysiology. At the time of his death, Dr. Arnold was associated with a private practice group and was on the staff of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Birmingham. Dr. Arnold was board certified in internal medicine, cardiology and electrophysiology.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Cardiology, the Jefferson County Medical Society, and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. He was a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas.
David Arnold was a fine citizen who practiced the golden rule. He was a brilliant student and a compassionate physician. He was both humble and steadfast; both gentle and strong. He was a patriotic American and a devout Christian. His honesty and dependability were his greatest virtues. He loved his work, but his greatest love was his family. He was a devoted husband, father, son and brother.
Dr. Arnold is survived by his wife, son, daughter, mother, brother and sister-in-law, sister and brother-in-law, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
A memorial service in celebration of Dr. Arnold’s life will be held Tuesday, December 7, 2004 at 1P.M. at the St. Vincent’s Hospital Auditorium in Birmingham. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:30 P.M. Monday, December 6, at Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Birmingham.
The family requests donations to the First United Methodist Church in memory of David Arnold, P.O. Box 265, Blakely, GA 39823 or the St. Vincent Foundation, P.O. Box 12407, Birmingham, AL 35202.
— Excerpt from obituary published in The Macon Telegraph on December 8, 2004
Carol Anne Folger ’78
Carol Anne Folger died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001, at her home in Seattle. Born April 14, 1956, in Atlanta, Georgia, she was preceded in death by her mother Marjorie Bullock Folger. Her husband Craig Michael Swanson and son Benjamin Tyler Swanson survive.
Carol graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina, taught kindergarten for five years in Charleston, S.C., and earned an M.D. from the Medical College of South Carolina. She served a medical residency with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, and practiced family medicine there for a number of years.
Carol’s laughter, sense of fun, bright red hair, and her care for others brought comfort and joy to all who knew her.
Surviving also are her parents John and Midge Folger; sister Karen Roll (Ken) and nieces Carol and Katie; brother Ken Folger (Linnea) and nephews Anders and MacKenzie; sister Susan Kjesbo (Grady) and nieces Emily and Hannah; brother Dag Folger (Barbara Wolf) and niece Olivia; and brother Jim Folger (Jessica Speltz) and nephew Aidan.
Carol leaves also a host of loving friends and colleagues who will cherish her memory.
Memorial Service will be held Thursday, December 27, at 2 p.m. at the University Friends Meeting House, 4001 – Ninth Ave., N.E.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Carol’s memory to Group Health Hospice Program, Group Health Community Foundation, 1730 – Minor Ave., Suite #1520, Seattle, WA 98101.
Dec 23, 2001 Seattle Times
Jeffrey Cone Metzel ’78
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The body of the son of longtime Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) missionaries to the Congo has been recovered from the wreckage of
a Kenyan Airlines jet that crashed Feb. 1 off the Ivory Coast.
Jeffrey Cone Metzel, 43, the son of career missionaries the Rev.
William C. and Ruth Metzel of Richmond, Va., was one of 179 people aboard
Flight 431, which took off from Abidjan and slammed into the ocean a minute
later. Metzel – an agricultural economist – was on his way to Lagos,
Nigeria, in connection with his work for a U.S. consulting firm that helps
governments of developing countries make agricultural policy.
Metzel was a specialist on west Africa.
The plane broke up on impact. News reports indicate that it was nearly
two hours before rescuers arrived at the scene. They were hampered by a
lack of rescue equipment and imprecise information.
Only 10 people survived the crash; nine were picked up by boats,
according to a story posted by CNN on Feb. 1, and one swam to shore. By
Monday night, 86 bodies had been recovered. Most of the dead are Nigerian.
The flight originated in Nairobi, Kenya, and was headed for Lagos, but
because of bad weather went instead to Abidjan, the main commercial city of
the Ivory Coast.
“The Metzels are just a family that’s always caring,” said another
former PC(USA) missionary, Ruth Welch, who served with the family in the
city of Mbuji Mayi, in what is now south central Congo – the former Zaire –
for seven years. “Their children are still very closely connected to Africa
… Dan, John, Sarah and Jeff.”
The Metzels’ careers were spent with the Presbyterian Church of Congo
as evangelistic missionaries. Bill itinerated through Congolese towns
working with lay preachers, helping to organize congregations and develop
leaders. Ruth taught school for missionary children and African nationals.
The children grew up in the Presbyterian mission stations of Lubondai,
Bulape, Moma, Mboi and Luebo.
Having spent more than 30 years in mission service on behalf of the
Presbyterian Church, the Metzels are now serving as mission volunteers with
street children in Mbuji Mayi, a city of more than 800,000 people, whose
census indicates that more than 4,000 children are abandoned, orphaned or
runaways. According to the latest mission letter they mailed from there,
dated Nov. 1, the home they were living in had water, but no electricity,
refrigerator or stove. “We’re living more simply … which has its
advantages,” they wrote.
“Now that gives you an idea about the kind of people the Metzels are,”
said one of their former colleagues, Annette Washburn, of Chamblee, Ga.,
who also served in the Congo with her husband, Bill, who added quickly:
“The Metzels couldn’t turn their back on someone in need.
“And that [legacy] has gone onto their children.”
No date has been set for the memorial service, which has been delayed
until the Metzels arrive from Congo on Feb. 6.
Metzel is survived by his wife, Joann, of Dedham, Mass., and their two
children, Hannah, 5, and Sam, 10; one sister, Sarah Adams, who works with
the Four Square Mission, and her husband, David, of Kampala, Uganda, and
their daughter; and two brothers, John, who directs the Washington,
D.C.-based Congo Educational Council, and his wife, Amy, of Arlington, Va.,
and their three children, and Dan, who works with the Africa Program of
Lutheran World Relief, and his wife, Yenigul, of Baltimore, Md.
Both John and Dan Metzel have returned briefly to Congo as mission
volunteers.
“My brother was a very, very much loved person,” said Dan Metzel, who
was careful to remind a reporter that Jeff’s name in Tshiluba, the language
of the Kasai, was, in fact, “Kasai wa Muhindula.” “Everybody who knew him
seemed to enjoy being around him … And, of course, we miss him very
badly.”
Metzel’s wife has asked that memorial gifts be sent to the Kasai
Orphans’ Fund, the project where Metzel’s parents now volunteer. Checks may
be sent to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Central Receiving Service,
Account # 051617, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, Ky. 40202-1396.
-Source : On the web: http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/