By Todd R. Michaelis, ’90
TEN people recently received emeriti awards from the BYU Emeriti Alumni Association. Recipients are Ruel A. Allred, ’54, J. LaVar Bateman, ’41, Elizabeth Anne “Betsy” Sears Christensen, ’52, Dean C. Christensen, Carl D. Clark, ’40, Alex B. Darais, ’48, Arturo De Hoyos, ’52, Phil D. Jensen, ’47, Harold S. Madsen, and Muriel Thole, ’58.
The 2003 recipients of emeriti awards from the BYU Emeriti Alumni Association are (seated, from left) J. LaVar Bateman, Carl D. Clark, Muriel Thole, Elizabeth Anne Sears Christensen, Dean C. Christensen, (standing, from left) Phil D. Jensen, Arturo De Hoyos, Alex B. Darais, Ruel A. Allred, and Harold S. Madsen.
Allred (Betty Best Allred, ’55) was a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean conflict. As a member of the BYU faculty he received several awards, including the Henry Aldous Dixon Award for Outstanding Developmental Research in Education and the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Teaching Award.
Bateman (Helen Ream Bateman, ’41) initiated the first BYU Student Program Bureau as an undergraduate. As a BYU faculty member, he led winning debate teams and was director of forum assemblies. He has taught in Germany for the University of Maryland and served as the head of speech and English at the College of Guam. He and his wife have served three full-time missions.
At BYU Betsy Christensen (Albert K. Christensen, ’53) was vice president of the Associated Women Students, a member of the Banyan staff, a member of Y Calcares, and part of the White Key Women honorary organization. She is a member of Church Women United and the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which houses and feeds homeless families.
Dean Christensen and his wife, Afton Nielson Christensen, have given generously to student scholarships. At BYU he became director of secondary education, organizer and chair of the graduate internship program, and dean of the College of Education. He has been active politically as a state representative and senator.
Clark (Hope Murdoch Clark) was an all-state high school athlete in football, basketball, and track. At BYU he set the Rocky Mountain record in the pole vault. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot instructor and commander of a B-29. He went to Northwestern University Dental School and practiced dentistry for more than 40 years.
Darais (Norma Johnson Darais), BYU emeritus professor of fine arts, is known for creating the BYU Centennial logo and the logos for the Museum of Art and the Harris Fine Arts Center. A comprehensive collection of his paintings and poetry was published in a book called Little Bird. He was BYU‘s first recipient of the Annual Exemplary Teacher Award.
De Hoyos (Genevieve Argault De Hoyos, ’54) has been a leading voice in multicultural studies and activities in the Church, the United States, and abroad. He was a Fulbright scholar at the University of the Republic in Uruguay. As a BYU sociology professor he established and directed The Eagle’s Eye, a periodical for Native American students.
As a missionary in Denmark, Jensen (Ruth Hazen Jensen) assisted the evacuation of missionaries from Europe during World War II. He graduated in accounting fromBYU and had a successful career with Beneficial Life Insurance. Jensen has served as first counselor in the Provo Temple presidency and as president of the North Scottish Mission and the California Mission.
Madsen (Mona Darton Madsen, ’74) was instrumental in the creation and development of BYU‘s English as a Second Language program. He was elected Dean’s Scholar for the College of Humanities and was a recipient of the BYU College of Humanities James Barker Lectureship and the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creative Arts Award.
Thole is a legendary BYU athletics fan. The “knitting lady” has missed only six BYU football home games and six and one-half men’s basketball home games in 50 years. During these sporting events, she has knitted thousands of hats, booties, sweaters, and socks, which she donates to charities. She has been featured in several news articles and in a commercial promoting the men’s basketball team.
