In 1965, Ethel (Decker) Huxtable, wrote a letter to ���Ĵ�ý President Dr. Theron Maxon, full of fond reminiscences and praise for her alma mater’s enduring role in her life. Although her path had taken her and her husband, Howard, to sunny California for decades following her 1915 graduation, the couple remained forever connected to their beloved college on the Nebraska plains.

Ethel Decker and Howard Huxtable spent many of their formative years in Hastings, and both graduated from Hastings High School before enrolling at ���Ĵ�ý. There, Ethel pursued a B.S. in English, and Howard worked toward a degree in economics. Following the end of his sophomore year, Howard followed his family to California, and completed his degree at Stanford University, graduating in 1915.

Ethel remained at ���Ĵ�ý, completing her own degree in 1915. Years later, she recalled her final day at HC wistfully: “On the way home down 7th Street that day, I heard the birds singing, and I saw the roses in bloom. I had not realized how beautiful everything along the way was till that morning I was going to graduate.”

Ethel remained in Nebraska to teach, and spent a year each at Wauneta and Alma. These teaching posts proved to be the beginning of a long and varied career in education for Ethel, spanning several grades, content areas and states. Meanwhile, Howard had parlayed his Stanford degree into a job at International Banking Corporation in San Francisco, and later, took a job at the San Francisco Clearing House, where he worked until his retirement in 1959.

Ethel left her Nebraska teaching posts after the close of the school year in 1917, and on May 10 of that year, she and Howard were married in a small family ceremony at the bride’s parents’ house at 112 N. Bellevue Ave in Hastings. A few days later, the couple moved west, where they established a home in Burlingame, California.

Marriage was not the only significant change that the couple would experience during the following year. When the United States entered World War I, Howard served in the U.S. Navy. He was one of many men with HC connections to serve — The Hastings Tribune considered in 1919 that the college had acquitted itself of its patriotic duty well, with its 189 men in service “add(ing) lustre” to the institution.

Not all of the servicemen came from the ranks of students and recent attendees—three of these service members were part of the faculty, and one was on the Board of Trustees!

Howard, for his part, seemingly excelled in his service. He completed additional training and was commissioned as an ensign. World War I brought different changes for Ethel — the couple’s only child, son Homer, was born in April of 1918. While Howard trained as an officer, Ethel cared for their infant.

Fortunately, the conclusion of the war speedily reunited the family, and Ethel recalled that “After the signing of the armistice, Howard, after a few months, was back in civilian clothes and in his old position at the bank.”

Ethel’s undergraduate studies at ���Ĵ�ý equipped her well for her next several decades as an educator, and opened exciting doors for her. When their son was a pre-schooler, she created a private school for him and other neighborhood children. As an enrichment activity for the kids, this was undoubtedly useful, but Ethel also viewed it practically—running the little school kept her Nebraska Life Credential valid.

“To me,” she remembered, “it meant life insurance, and it would have been void had I not kept in educational work.”

This same motivation drove her to pursue summer graduate school work at San Jose State, and later, at Stanford. Ethel remembered with some pride that her work was so excellent that one of her professors at SJSU told her “You don’t belong here. You should be in Stanford.”

In 1927, Ethel brought Homer to Hastings for an extended summer visit with her parents, and while here taught two courses at ���Ĵ�ý: Educational Methods, and Modern Methods in Geography.

As Homer grew older and entered the public school system, Ethel likewise found a space for herself in the classroom. After stints teaching both elementary and high school, she was approached by her superintendent to consider taking over as Art Supervisor.

“This meant work, for again, I would need to earn more credentials” to qualify as a supervisor, remembered Ethel, who branched out even further and took a number of Fine Arts courses at the California School of Fine Arts.

Truly a lifelong learner, Ethel’s dedication to scholastic excellence gained her acceptance into Pi Lambda Theta, an international honor society for educators, (Omega Chapter) at the University of California, a membership she treasured for the rest of her life. She worked as supervisor of art in Burlingame Public Schools for 24 years and, as she remembered, “loved every minute of it.”

With challenging and satisfying careers, both Howard and Ethel nevertheless dedicated themselves to a variety of organizations.

Howard was a member of the San Francisco and Peninsular Camera Club, the American Legion, the Sirs of Retirement, and several fraternal organizations. Ethel continued to teach art in community spaces after her retirement, and was active in the Burlingame Women’s Club and Pi Lambda Theta. In 1975, the couple moved to Modesto, California, to be close to Homer and his wife, Elizabeth.

In addition to their involvement in their California community, the Huxtables never forgot ���Ĵ�ý.

Howard was elected as vice president of the Northern California Chapter of the ���Ĵ�ý Alumni Association in 1966, and records show that the couple gave regularly to a variety of projects on campus. Ethel, in particular, took an eager interest in developments at the college and often shared her impressions of the alumni bulletin with the alumni office.

After their deaths—Howard died in 1976 at age 84, and Ethel in 1979 at age 88 — their son, Homer, chose to honor his parents through continuing their connection to the place that meant so much to both of them. In honor of his mother’s long dedication to education, Homer and Elizabeth Huxtable established the Ethel E. Huxtable Memorial Scholarship Fund.

When Homer died in 1993 he left an estate totaling $590,000 to the college in honor of his parents. This gift to ���Ĵ�ý continues a long tradition of financial support the Huxtables provided the College during their lifetimes.

After reflecting on her previous 50 years of a full life, Ethel concluded her 1965 letter with gratitude for the role her alma mater had played in shaping her: “I learned how to value time, work, study and be happy in ���Ĵ�ý,” she wrote.

Thanks to Ethel, Howard, and Homer’s generosity, generations of ���Ĵ�ý students have had the opportunity to do the same.

By Carrie Brosman, a senior history and political science major from Aurora, Nebraska, and history professor Dr. Catherine Biba.

When Harris passed away in 2016, her family decided that ���Ĵ�ý – nearly 1,500 miles from her California home – was the ideal place to honor her memory.

The lively brunette grew up across the street from the College in a storybook English Tudor on East Seventh Street built in 1931 by her grandfather, Lloyd Coates. Harris attended ���Ĵ�ý from 1945 to 1947 and was active on campus as president of the Theta Psi Beta Society and a member of the Symphony Orchestra and Student Association. Her brother, George Coates ’51, was a ���Ĵ�ý graduate, and her sister-in-law, Betty (Brannen) Coates, attended the College.

To continue the ���Ĵ�ý legacy of Alica (Coates) Harris and the Coates family, her daughter Mary Rooney and son James McIllece, along with other family members, established the Alice Nadine (Coates) Harris Endowed Scholarship, awarded each year to a female student preparing for a career in education or library science. The ���Ĵ�ý Foundation preserves gifts to the endowed scholarship as principal and uses only a percentage of the yearly growth for scholarship aid. In this way, the funds support students now and for future generations.

In her obituary, Harris was remembered as a woman who loved children and animals and inspired others with her “passion for youth education, politics, women’s rights and lifelong learning.”

Harris studied English education at Hastings before following her then-husband, Donald McIllece ’49, to Omaha. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in education and later earned her master’s degree in library science from the University of Washington. In 1965 she married George Harris and moved to South Pasadena, where she was a devoted elementary and middle school librarian for the San Marino School District until her retirement.

Harris was preceded in death by her husband and her brother, George Coates, who spent 45 years in the Army and National Guard, including service as Adjutant General of the Washington National Guard. Following his retirement in 1985, he worked as a consultant for the military for 10 years. He died in 2007, his wife Betty in 2017.

The original Coates’ family home in Hastings has a decades-long history of owners associated with ���Ĵ�ý. Dee (Wattles) Yost ’72, public service librarian in Perkins Library, lived in the home until her death in 2007. The College purchased the home in 2013 as a residence for then-President Don Jackson ’70. The current owner is Dr. Jesse Weiss, associate dean of academic affairs and professor of sociology.

A farm boy and Eagle Scout from Kenesaw, Nebraska, Stoner studied at ���Ĵ�ý under chemistry professor Arnold Alberts and mathematics professor James Standley, who became his mentors and friends. He excelled in the classroom, received a teaching fellowship to the graduate program in chemistry at Iowa State University and was awarded graduate fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Texaco Corporation and Proctor and Gamble Corporation. He earned his doctorate in chemistry in 1964.

Grateful for the undergraduate experiences that launched his career and eager to leave a legacy at his alma mater, Stoner in 2015 established the Dr. M. Robert Stoner Endowed Scholarship Fund at ���Ĵ�ý, which supports students majoring in chemistry, mathematics or physics.

In the estate distributed after his death in December 2024, Stoner added to the corpus of the endowed scholarship with a generous bequest. The ���Ĵ�ý Foundation will preserve the gift as principal and use only a percentage of the yearly growth for scholarship aid. In this way, the funds will support students now and for future generations.

“Bob loved his time at ���Ĵ�ý and wanted to ensure current students had the same kind of opportunities,” said Dr. Phil Dudley, president emeritus and gift officer with the ���Ĵ�ý Foundation. “Each time I visited with him, he said how thankful he was for the ���Ĵ�ý professors who mentored and prepared him for graduate school and a career in college teaching.”

Stoner also reflected on his experiences in the arts at ���Ĵ�ý. An honorary member of Alpha Psi Omega national dramatics society, he headed up the lighting and sound crews for several theater productions.

“As a student concentrating on science and mathematics courses, I appreciated the opportunity to be part of the backstage crews in the college dramatic productions,” he wrote years later in an alumni class note.

Stoner was a dedicated and involved alumnus, serving as a class agent for scholarship campaigns, attending reunions and giving annually to the 1882 Fund.

To make a gift to the M. Robert Stoner Endowed Scholarship Fund, or call the ���Ĵ�ý Foundation at 402.461.7363.

About Dr. M. Robert Stoner (source: )

Stoner joined the faculty at the University of South Dakota in 1964 and served the chemistry department until his retirement in 2001. He taught organic chemistry at the undergraduate and graduate level, organic and biochemistry for non-science majors, and elective courses in polymer chemistry, chemistry in the marketplace and environmental chemistry. He had an “open door” policy, and each day could be found in his office helping and motivating students. He led a research program in organic photochemistry and worked side-by-side with his students as they developed research skills.

In addition to his teaching, Stoner was active with First United Methodist Church Vermillion where he sang and soloed for the choir and taught Sunday School classes. He enjoyed hiking, photography, stamp collecting and spending time with family in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in Washington State.

At the August 2024 reunion, classmate Ronda Tycer of Incline Village, Nevada, announced the creation of the Barbara (Anderson) Sergeant Scholarship at ���Ĵ�ý. Sergeant, who earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at ���Ĵ�ý in 1968 and was active in the music program, has been integral in organizing her high school reunion every five years since graduation. She lives in Hastings.

“The feedback from the class was uniformly positive — ‘well deserved’ and ‘excellent idea,’” Tycer said.

Over the next five months, classmates gave $34,212, exceeding the newly established $25,000 threshold to fully endow a scholarship. Forty-two people from 14 states coast-to-coast contributed.

In recognition of Sergeant’s music and education background, ���Ĵ�ý will award the endowed scholarship to a Hastings High School graduate pursuing a music major or minor or majoring in elementary teacher education. The first distribution will be in the fall of 2026.

An unexpected honor

Sergeant was “dumbfounded and stunned” when the scholarship was announced at the Class of 1964’s reunion.

“It has always been a close class, and we’ve tried hard to keep everyone connected. But it was beyond words what it meant to have them do that. I did what I did because I wanted to, and I didn’t expect anything in return,” she said.

In addition to her decades of work as class reunion organizer, Sergeant taught first and second graders in the Hastings Public Schools for 36 years, mostly at Alcott Elementary. A talented musician, she has been organist at the United Methodist Church for 60-plus years and taught piano to numerous local children.

“Barbara is good-hearted to the bone. She has admirable energy and organizational skills and a lively sense of humor. She is always helpful if she can be,” Tycer said. “These skills have resulted in her being the glue that keeps the 1964 class connected.”

Classmate Lyle Fleharty of Hastings, former member of the ���Ĵ�ý Board of Trustees, agrees.

“She’s been organizing reunions every five years since we graduated. She also keeps track of the class throughout the year, even reading obituaries and letting us know when one of our class members has passed. Her efforts have been endless,” he said.

Steve Traut, a classmate living in Vienna, Virginia, credits Sergeant for 60 years of class camaraderie and connection.

“That’s a long time for Barbara to hold a high school class together, and that’s what she’s done. I dare say you can’t find another Hastings High School class that’s met every five years. We have Barbara to thank for that. It’s been amazing,” he said.

Classmate Mary (Lainson) Olsen of Hastings, a 1969 HC graduate, has known Sergeant since the 4th grade when she moved from a farm to a home across the street from the Lainsons.

“I admire her so much,” Olsen said. “She does everything for our class without complaint. She’s a remarkable woman – very talented in so many areas.”

Gifts that keep giving

The ���Ĵ�ý Foundation will preserve gifts to the Barbara (Anderson) Sergeant Endowed Scholarship as principal and use only a percentage of the yearly growth for scholarship aid. In this way, the funds will support students now and for future generations.

“Given the quick success of the campaign, it’s obvious that Barbara’s classmates hold her in high regard and appreciate her work in organizing reunions over the years,” said Chelsea LeMar ’07, executive director of the ���Ĵ�ý Foundation. “The scholarship is the perfect ‘thank you’ in that it preserves Barbara’s legacy at ���Ĵ�ý while benefiting the next generations of musicians and educators.”

Gifts to the endowed scholarship are still being accepted. To make a gift, click here or call the ���Ĵ�ý Foundation at 402.461.7363.

By Judee Konen ‘85