Category: 1991

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Margaret Lynn Morgan ’91

On November 24, 2022, Margaret Lynn Morgan, beloved wife, devoted mother, cherished sister, and much-admired friend and educator, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.

Margaret was born August 16, 1969, in Cutchogue, New York to Dr. Donald O’Quinn Morgan and Sue (Brown) Morgan. Dr. Don Morgan’s work as a research veterinarian took the family to Lexington, Kentucky and Urbana, Illinois, but home was the tip of Long Island where the potato and pumpkin farms provided most of the entertainment. She graduated from Mattituck High School in 1987.

Margaret’s lifelong dream was to teach high school math, so she began her education at Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina. At Davidson, Margaret found her place. She loved the college almost as much as she loved the friends she made there. You didn’t know Margaret for long without knowing how important her Davidson years were to her. She loved to tell the story of when Hurricane Hugo came through, and the campus lost power for a week. She cherished the time with her Davidson family at the Davidson gatherings at Montreat, North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Davidson, Margaret decided to move to Athens, Georgia to pursue her graduate education at both of her parents’ alma mater, the University of Georgia. Margaret earned both a master’s degree in Mathematics Education (1993) and a master’s degree in Mathematics (1995). While in graduate school, Margaret worked as a tutor for the UGA Athletics Department, making friends with most of the football players of the early nineties.

It was during graduate school that Margaret met the love of her life, Derrell Hall. Margaret and Derrell were married August 3, 1996, holding the event on land that had been in her family for over a hundred years and where her family still had a home. Margaret and Derrell made their home in Athens, Georgia, and Margaret procured a mathematics teaching position at what was then called Athens Area Technical Institute. Margaret rose quickly through the ranks at Athens Tech, serving as mathematics instructor, department coordinator, e-Learning coordinator, Director of Instruction, and Dean for the Division of Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing. Margaret would eventually follow her dream of teaching high school math and ended her career as a mathematics instructor at Cedar Shoals High School. One of Margaret’s driving forces was to mentor students to love math as much as she did. More importantly, she wanted her students to love learning and to achieve more than they thought possible (which they did). In 2011, Margaret earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Georgia. She was proud to follow in her father’s footsteps with the title Dr. Morgan.

Without question, the greatest moment of Margaret’s life was the day her son Jackson was born. Jackson brought a happiness to his parents’ lives that they could never have imagined. She always liked to say that Jackson was made of the best parts of both of his parents. She was thrilled when she began teaching high school that Jackson was still young enough for long summer vacations. They made a goal to visit as many major league baseball parks as they could and visited all of the major national parks. One of her favorite annual traditions was spending the holidays in Snowshoe, West Virginia, drinking hot chocolate and watching Derrell and Jackson ski. Most recently, Margaret celebrated Jackson’s admittance to UGA-another Dawg in the family!

In addition to loving math, Margaret was an outstanding baker. She loved making cakes, cookies, and breads. She said that cooking for others is what helped her relax. Her friends and family all benefited from her “relaxation,” and everyone had their favorite dish that she would make for them on birthdays and special occasions. Her pumpkin cake was legendary.

Margaret was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Derrell Hall; son Jackson Morgan Hall; her brother, Ernest (Kelly) Morgan of Star, North Carolina; her nephew Donald (Stephanie) Morgan and her great-nephew Bruce Morgan of Las Vegas, Nevada; and her niece, Madeline Morgan of Alexandria, Virginia. She also has special friends, who are like family, Madeline and Jonathan Ransom and their parents and her friend, Caroline Angelo, Jackson’s “second” mom. She also leaves behind her two much-loved dogs, Wrigley and Chipper.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held Saturday, December 17, 2022, at 11:00 AM at Milledge Avenue Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 10:00AM until 10:45AM at the church.  

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity or the Fund for Davidson College.

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Mary Bernhardt Busko ’91

Mary Bernhardt Busko '91

Mary Bernhardt Busko passed away July 24th due to complications from a stroke.  She was 52 years old.


Mary was born in Lenoir, North Carolina to Alex and Anne Bernhardt.  She was raised by her loving parents in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains with her brother Alex and sister Lillian, along with the warm nurturing of close family friend, Gladys Ferguson, and their extended family.  Mary’s childhood was centered around family and church, and it was punctuated by many family camping trips and the sounds of bluegrass music.

Her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit were evident at an early age when she ran the “Neighborhood News”, a local newsletter which informed neighbors of all the good gossip along with some recipe ideas; Mary also cofounded The Three Little Caterers which delivered homemade meals to neighbors.  Her love of the outdoors continued to blossom, and as a teenager, Mary completed Outward Bound and National Outdoor Leadership School expeditions.

Mary graduated from Davidson College with a degree in Art History.  A talented writer, painter and illustrator, Mary was a self-described bookworm and loved Davidson and its academic rigor.  At Davidson, Mary’s ability to connect with people became obvious, and she developed many deep and life-long friendships with fellow students and professors alike.

Always eager to spend time outdoors, after college Mary spent a number of impressionable months working at R Lazy S Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming – a place where decades later Mary would proudly revisit with her family.  Mary worked in Charlotte, North Carolina in media sales for five years before pursuing her MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.  While earning her degree, Mary met her classmate, and future husband, Eric.

A more perfect match has never been made. During their wedding ceremony the minister, rather than announce the couple as Mary and Eric Busko, mistakenly announced them as Meric Busko, and that nickname appropriately stuck.  Together Meric shared many passions including travel, music, the outdoors, hiking, reading, the Pittsburgh Steelers and their Faith.  Undoubtedly, their biggest shared joy was raising, and taking pride in, their two daughters.

They lived in Atlanta, where Mary worked for the Coca-Cola Company as a Marketing Manager for 10 years.  Mary’s creativity and ability to genuinely connect with people helped her excel at her job.

Mary left her job to raise her two wonderful daughters, Mae and Harper, who inherited many of Mary’s tremendous qualities.  They were also given the gift of Mary’s beautifully blue eyes.  Mary raised her girls with her typical gusto and put everything she had into helping shape them into the lovely young ladies they have become.

Mary also selflessly volunteered her time and talents: she worked at Meals on Wheels Atlanta, held multiple volunteer roles at Holy Innocents Episcopal School, and worked with Purposeful Pecans.  Mary was an Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and was extremely involved in many aspects of the life of the church including teaching children’s Sunday School with her husband for years, leading a Stewardship Campaign, working in several areas of the church’s community ministries and pastoral care programs, teaching Vacation Bible School, and actively participating in Adult Sunday School.

Mary will be remembered for being loving, smart, charismatic, funny, interesting, interested, creative, kind and gracious.   She was well known for sending notably thoughtful and witty handwritten thank you notes. Mary enjoyed hostessing with a flair for creativity and humor.  Mary had deep love for family and friends, and for making the world a better place.  She was a giver and focused on doing for others rather than herself.  In her short 52 years on earth, Mary touched and enhanced many, many people.  If you knew Mary Busko, you loved Mary Busko.

Mary was a beautiful person inside and out.  She was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend.  Mary will be profoundly missed.

Mary is survived by her parents, George Alexander Bernhardt, Sr. and Anne Harper Bernhardt, her husband of 22 years, Eric Kendall Busko, her daughters, Mae McPherson Busko and Harper Layne Busko, her brother, George Alexander Bernhardt, Jr. (Tavia) and children Annabella Jean Bernhardt, Elizabeth Banks Bernhardt and George Alexander Bernhardt III, her sister Lillian Bernhardt Sutcliffe (Nick) and children Corinna Bernhardt Sutcliffe and Charles Nicholas Sutcliffe, her mother-in-law, Marjorie Smith Busko, her sister-in-law Lisa Busko Johnson (Mike), and her brother-in-law William Devin Busko II (Morgan) and children Elsa Smith Busko and Sophie Anderson Busko.  Mary is predeceased by her father-in-law William Devin Busko.

A funeral service will be held on July 29th at 4PM at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.  A reception will follow at the family’s home at 435 Cochran Drive, NW, Atlanta.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Mary Bernhardt Busko to: Meals on Wheels Atlanta, 1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318; First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, Community Ministries programs, 1328 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 303039; or The Happy Valley Fiddler’s Convention’s Mary Bernhardt Busko Fund, PO Box 186, Patterson, North Carolina 28661.

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Milton Ray Watson III ’91

Milton Ray Watson III., age 51, went home to be with the Lord on October 5, 2020. Milton III is survived by his parents, Milton Ray Watson II, and Geraldine Watson; children, Antonio, and Alliece; siblings, Darlene Anderson, Herbert Epps(Tammy), and Horace Epps.

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There will be a PRIVATE service held.

Visitation:

Thursday, October 22, 2020 from 2-8p.m. at THE CALHOUN FUNERAL HOME 23000 Rockside Rd. Bedford Hts. OH, 44146.

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John Eric Bone ’91

John Eric Bone ’91, of Atlanta, Ga., passed away on Oct. 24 at the age of 39. Born in Newton County to Charles Bone and the late Becky Barr Bone, he earned his B.A. degree in English from Davidson and then studied film and media production at UNC Chapel Hill. Bone enjoyed camping, reading, cooking, and entertaining his many friends. He enjoyed life and will be missed by all who knew him. Bone is survived by his father, Charles W. Bone, 100 Riverbend Dr., Covington, GA 30014-1659; sister, Kimberly Bone Brooks; brothers, Eddie Bone and Kevin Bone; paternal grandmother, Retha Bone; and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and many friends.

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Martha Louise Spoor ’91

Martha Louise Spoor ’91 died peacefully at home on May 6 following a five-year battle against breast cancer. She was only 39 years old and had so much more living to do and many more lives to touch. Martha was born on Apr. 11, 1969, in San Antonio, Tex. She attended Davidson and earned a bachelor of arts degree in English, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with the Class of 1992. Following graduation, she returned to San Antonio and received her master of arts degree in teaching from Trinity University in 1994. Martha’s greatest passion was teaching, and for almost 14 years she fulfilled her long-held dream as an English teacher at her beloved Alamo Heights Junior School. Above all others, her favorite assignment was to teach sixth grade pre-AP/gifted and talented English students, inspiring and encouraging them, especially in their writing skills. She loved her students as if they were her own children and always believed in their abilities to do better work than they thought they could. Martha was determined to teach as long as she was physically able, deriving strength from her precious students. She enjoyed the sense of family created by her colleagues, the students, and their parents and thrived on being a part of it. The most painful and courageous decision of her life was to retire from the classroom because she could no longer fulfill her own high expectations. She enjoyed physical activity, especially working out at the gym and playing ping pong, but also had fun watching sporting events on TV. She loved to bake, play Trivial Pursuit, and listen to an eclectic variety of music on her iPod. She is survived by her parents, David and Louise “Tookie” Parrish Spoor, 7603 Vinewood Ct., San Antonio, TX 78209; brother, Stephen (Jodi) and daughters, Emma and Eileen; sister Susan; uncles and aunts, Jack and Patty Parrish Hurt and Dan and Janice Bourdon Spoor; godparents, Dan and Molly Webster and the Honorable Sam Sparks; and numerous cousins. She is also survived by her beloved kitties, Cinnamon and Callie. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Harry and Mildred Merrill Spoor and Ray and Etna “Grannie” Stolz Parrish; aunt, Patricia Spoor Carroll; cousins, Leslie Anne Spoor and Zachary Owen Bueker; and other godmother, Arden Reed.