This award celebrates those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional and continual dedication to Wittenberg's ideals. Any Alumnus/a shall be eligible for the citation on the basis of exceptional professional accomplishments and service to humanity ahead of personal recognition or gain.
Believing that everyone should count their blessings and make them count, The Rev. J. Davis Illingworth continues to be thankful for his Wittenberg education more than six decades after graduating.
“For me, Wittenberg was the defining moment in my whole life,” he said, noting the excellent educational background for his life’s work, the opportunity to participate in all aspects of university life and unforgettable friendships formed. ”It was here that I found my way, and I will always be grateful.”
His former congregations across the country and his current community of Sun City, Ariz., could say the same for him.
President of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, editor of the Wittenberger, member of numerous honor societies and winner of the Ohio State Intercollegiate Peace Oratorical Contest, Illingworth has served without hesitation wherever God has called him. Pastor of seven churches in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Arizona, California and Nevada during his 64-year career, Illingworth also founded the 2,000-member Faith Presbyterian Church in Sun City. Out of respect for him and his efforts, the members named the auditorium in the new church complex Illingworth Hall.
Throughout his career and in his retirement years, Illingworth has also displayed his compassion in working to ensure that people have the best resources available. He recently co-founded the $80 million Royal Oaks Life Center complete with a 100-bed Medicare-certified health care center and an assisted living building, aptly named The Illingworth Center. In 2000, the Arizona State Association of Homes and Housing for the Aging named him Trustee of the Year.
In 2005, Wittenberg recognized him as well, awarding him an Alumni Citation Award for his exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, during its Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 28-30.
A history major at Wittenberg, Illingworth earned his master of divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1941. Davis and Elkins College later awarded him an honorary doctorate of divinity in 1954.
When Walter “Wally” Moll’s name is mentioned, a string of descriptors come to mind: loving father and husband, faithful friend, veteran, coach and educator. But for those who knew him well, all would agree that more adjectives should be added to the mix.
“He had many wonderful memories of Wittenberg,” said his widow Patty Wehn Moll ’49, who accepted his Alumni Citation award, presented posthumously during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 28-30.
Given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg through their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, the award provided an opportunity to recognize Moll’s commitment to educating young people.
A dedicated teacher, Moll taught elementary and junior high school students in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights area before entering the administrative ranks. During this time, Moll planned and implemented a physical education program, coached basketball and track, and instructed drug education for parents in the local school community in addition to his teaching responsibilities. At one time, Moll also taught elementary-level classes for psychiatric patients at the Cleveland State Hospital. In the mid-1970s, Moll became an administrator in the West Geauga schools in Chesterland, Ohio, retiring as principal of the district’s high school in 1982.
Active in his community, Moll served as a member of the board of directors of the Heights YMCA, director of the Cleveland Heights girls summer softball league and was a volunteer at the Cleveland Museum of National History. Throughout his life, Moll also remembered his alma mater. A member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the Shifters and Boost W, Moll, who majored in health and physical education and wrote for the Torch, served as president of the Cleveland-area Wittenberg alumni group during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
As was shared at his funeral in 2001, “That man is a success…who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children…who leaves the world better than he found it…who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.”
One of Minnesota’s 100 Most Influential Health Care Leaders, according to Minnesota Physician magazine, Ted Thompson has never forgotten the place that led him to pursue medicine.
“My ability to communicate, to be a team player and to lead with compassion began at Wittenberg,” Thompson said. And it hasn’t ceased since.
Recipient of numerous accolades and awards for his work in pediatrics and neonatology, including being named “Outstanding Physician in Neonatology” in 2001 and 2002 by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, Thompson has insisted that education and compassion fuel physicians’ work. That commitment and perspective recently earned him another award, this time from his alma mater, which presented him with an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 28-29.
Given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, the award brought Thompson back to campus 35 years after graduating. During his time back, Thompson recalled the friendships he made and role models he found at Wittenberg.
“I also learned the need to persevere,” he said.
The chief-elect for the medical executive committee and the acute intake medical director for Fairview-University Medical Center, and the associate head for education and community programs for the department of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Thompson also serves as the director of clinical education at the medical school.
A chemistry major at Wittenberg and vice president of Phi Mu Delta fraternity, Thompson is also a member of Phi Chi medical fraternity. Widely published and author of two educational manuals, he was inducted into the prestigious Academy of Medical Educators in 2004 and has consistently received the American Medical Association Physicians’ Recognition Award for Continuing Medical Education. He received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.
Described as having a “spunky, no-nonsense attitude,” Kathleen “Keg” Gahagen Derushia has never allowed herself to accept “no” for an answer. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age one, Derushia has battled infections, diabetes and numerous complications related to CF, yet her faith and unwavering commitment to serving others have remained steadfast.
“I think we grow through adversity,” Derushia said. “CF has given me a basis for my faith, which has certainly served me well for what I was called to do.”
The pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in North Tonawanda, N.Y., Derushia ministers to more than 325 parishioners, walking hand in hand with them through difficulties and triumphs. Derushia displayed that same care and compassion during her years at Wittenberg, so much so that one classmate said Derushia changed the focus of her life dramatically.
“I learned to value, honor and respect others at Wittenberg,” Derushia said. “I also valued Wittenberg’s connection to the Lutheran church, and I learned to serve here.”
A theatre and dance major who went on to earn her master of divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1997, Derushia has also volunteered for her alma mater in several ways and currently teaches on healing and health and spirituality at the University of Buffalo Medical School. Profiled in the 2002 summer issue of Alpha Xi Delta sorority’s national magazine, The Quill, Derushia also serves as company chaplain for Columbia Hook and Ladder in New York.
In light of her exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, Wittenberg honored her with an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 28-29.
“I just love life. Every day, I think, ‘What’s going to happen today?’ My parents instilled that expectant attitude in me. Get up and go! You can make life happen.”