Fairborn Daily Herald
FAIRBORN — The Class of 2016 will be enshrined in the Fairborn City Schools’ Hall of Honor during the 29th annual induction ceremony. The ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, April 29 in the Fairborn High School Auditorium, will be followed by a reception in the commons. The event is free and open to the public.
Those receiving the award are:
– Donald O. DeVault: a 1956 graduate of Fairborn High School, where he lettered in track and cross country. He served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from the Ohio University, Zanesville Branch School of Nursing. He retired in 1999 from the State of Ohio Corrections Medical Center after an active nursing career. He is a long-term member of the Lions Club, where he served as Ohio District 13-K Governor in 2005 through 2006, was the founder of the Liberty Day Program for Ohio Schools and received the Lifetime Achievement Award, the International President’s Leadership Medal and the International President’s Medal of Honor. He received the State Council of Governors Medal of Achievement and in 2014 was inducted into the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. He is a Kentucky Colonel and a member of the Sons of Italy, Moose Lodge, Amvets Post 345, American Red Cross and Blessed Sacrament Church. He and his wife Irma, who passed away in February, have six children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He resides in Newark, Ohio.
– Albert E. Gilbert: a 1947 graduate of Bath Exempted High School, where he played in the band and lettered in track and cross country. He served as a Naval Petty Officer on the USS Coral Sea aircraft carrier during the Korean Conflict and then earned a bachelor of science degree from Wilmington College and a master’s degree from Central State University. He was employed by the Fairborn City Schools from 1956 through 1983 and taught history at Central and Five Points Junior High Schools and was a guidance counselor at Five Points Junior High School and Park Hills High School. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, Antioch Shriners and Enon United Methodist Church, where he served on the council of ministries. He has been actively involved in the study of down syndrome and for 15 years served on the Human Rights Committee for People of Special Needs for the Whispering Pines Group Home. He and his wife of 59 years, Joan (McCarty), have three children: Roger (Carolle), Glenn (Theresa) and Alison and seven grandchildren. They reside in Enon.
– William F. Naughton: a 1960 graduate of St. John Central High School in Bellaire, Ohio, where he was senior class president and yearbook editor. He earned a bachelor of arts and science from Duquesne University in 1964 and a master’s degree in special education from Wright State University in 1971. He joined the Fairborn City Schools in 1967, where he initiated the work-study program for special education students, was the work-study coordinator at Park Hills, Baker and Fairborn High Schools and taught driver’s education. He served on the Greene County Committee for the Employment of the Handicapped and the Fairborn Police Advisory Council and was the co-owner of Naughton’s Driving School and the owner and curator of the Antique Studebaker Museum of Ohio. He was an Automobile Expert Witness of Montgomery County and is a member of numerous automobile clubs. He has three children: Lori, Bill (Anne Graham) and Brent (Michelle Blades) and three grandchildren: JW, Brenna and Kaidan. He resides in St. Clairsville, Ohio.
– Norma Watson Nikkola: a 1953 graduate of Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and music programs. She received a diploma in nursing from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor of science from Central State University and a master of science from Wright State University and holds certification as an Ohio School Nurse. She joined the Fairborn City Schools in 1973 and was the school nurse for Central and Wright Elementary Schools, Central and Baker Junior High Schools, Baker Middle School and Fairborn High School and the FCS coordinator of health services for 31 years, retiring in 2011 after a 55-year nursing career. She is a member of numerous medical associations, was the Ohio School Nurse of the Year in 2006 and the National School Nurse of the Year in 2007. She and Ed, her husband of 59 years, have four children: Dan, Steven, Kim and Kristen, five grandchildren and a great-grandson Legend. They reside in Fairborn.
– Randy E. Phillips: a 1976 graduate of Park Hills High School, where he was the drum major and a member of the National Honor Society and bands. He received a bachelor of science degree in computer science/systems engineering from Wright State University and is a graduate of executive programs from Dartmouth, Stanford and Harvard Universities. He has held senior executive positions in a number of multinational aerospace, industrial and technology companies, such as Boeing and Alcoa, and has completed strategic business activities in more than 20 countries. He is a Trustee for the Wright State University (WSU) Foundation and member of the WSU Campaign Cabinet and received the 2005 Outstanding Alumni Award from the WSU College of Engineering and Computer Science. He and his wife Cynthia (Ockerman) are involved in arts and educational philanthropy, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the R.E. Phillips Family Foundation. They have two children: Adam (Sarah) and Lauren and reside in Great Falls, Virginia.
– Michael L. Seewer: a 1963 graduate of Fairborn High School, where he was a member of the band and orchestra. He received a bachelor of science degree from Ohio State University, a master of arts degree from Wright State University and a Ph.D in history from Columbia Pacific University. He joined the Fairborn City Schools in 1967, where he taught advanced placement U.S. history, English and literature at Park Hills and Fairborn High Schools and was the District social studies chairperson and member of the academic council. He retired in 1998. He was twice president of the Beavercreek-Fairborn Optimist Club and has been an ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for more than 30 years. He was the D.A.R.’s Ohio U. S. History Teacher of the Year, the Colonial Dames National History Teacher of the Year, a four-time recipient of the Greene County Outstanding Educator Award and received commendations from MIT, Yale and the University of Chicago. He and his wife Kathleen reside in Fairborn and have a granddaughter, Maggie.
– R. Ellen Slone-Farthing: a 1972 graduate of Baker High School, received a degree in accounting from the American Institute of Banking and is certified as a senior center administrator of aging. She spent 31 years in the banking industry at Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank and at US Bank, where she was manager of the Five Points Branch. In 2006, she became executive director of the Fairborn Senior Center, a position she still holds. She is currently president of the Fairborn Rotary and the Ohio Association of Senior Centers, the finance chair for the Fairborn Lions Club, board member and ambassador for the Fairborn Area Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 526, co-founder of the Christmas in Action Project and organizes the annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner. She was the 2009 Fourth of July parade grand marshal, the 2015 Sweet Corn Festival queen and the winner of the 2012 Jack Huelsman Civic Award. She is married to Leroy Farthing, resides in Medway and has four stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.
