Marshall Magazine Autumn 2022

class notes

In Memoriam

of his textbooks into Greek using a dictionary so that he could continue to make excellent grades. After completing his undergraduate degree in Economics, he finished a master’s degree at the University of Michigan and did Ph.D. work at West Virginia University. Nick moved to Huntington, West Virginia, in 1965 to teach economics at Marshall University. He happily taught there for 48 years be fore retiring at age 81. While teaching at Marshall, he met and married Sharon (Stone) Kontos. They were married for just shy of 50 years. Together they traveled to more than 25 countries, returning often to Greece, which was their second home. When Nick was about to turn 50, he and Sharon welcomed their only daughter, Eleni Christina, and she became their new adventure. He was the best “baba” and he adored every second with his family. Nick had many friends. He had a running card game for decades and he had golfing buddies at every course in the TriState. He often played multiple rounds per week and managed to get 5 holes-in-one over the years. But his happiest day was playing the old course at St. Andrews. Though he always missed his family in Greece, he was blessed to find a church family at St. George Greek Orthodox Church where he could often be found outside with other men having a “breath of fresh air” (smoking) after services. Sitting beside Sharon, Eleni and her husband, Christopher Miller, and his grandchildren, Evyenia Krina, Stavros Christoforos and Athena Kontopoulou, at church were his happiest moments. He will be remem bered as a loving man whose quiet presence was always accompanied by kindness and a smile. Lucille Juett passed away Feb. 14, 2022. Lucille, originally from Jacksboro, Tennessee, resided in Ashland, Kentucky, since 1973. She received her undergraduate degree from Berea College and her master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, where she met her husband, Tilman. Lucille taught at schools in Kentucky, Ohio and Oregon, and later at the University of Cincinnati and Marshall University.

Norma C. Carroll (’51) passed away on Dec. 20, 2021. She was born in Charleston, West Virginia, and graduated from Charleston High School with honors. She moved to Huntington, West Virginia, with her family in 1947 and attended Marshall, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with focus in accounting and a minor in French. When asked, she liked to tell people she intended to be a French accountant. She and her husband, Charlie Carroll, met at a church camp in August 1949. They were imme diately in love and dated for 14 months before marrying in October 1950. After graduating from Marshall, Norma chose to be a homemaker. She was very active in her church at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, serving as president of the United Methodist Women for two terms and treasurer for 10 years. She was very active in many nonprofit and volunteer organizations, serving as president and/or treasurer in most. She was a substantial supporter of Marshall University in both academics and athletics, having served students through multiple scholarships and endow ments. Norma was a talented interior decorator, flower gardener and landscape designer. She was named Alumni of the Year in Liberal Arts at Marshall University in 2013 and was a member of Marshall’s Pathway to Prominence. Shirley Bender (’99) passed away on May 13, 2022, at the age of 75 in Mesa, Arizona, after an extended illness. Nicholas Kontos passed away on Oct. 15, 2021. He was born in Karytaina, Greece. He had an idyllic early childhood. Then, he survived years of Nazi occupation, ending with the vivid memory of NATO forces handing out Crisco, which he promptly opened and ate from the can with a spoon. Despite years with no formal education during the war, he had extremely high test scores. At age 20, knowing no English, he immigrated to the United States to attend Indiana University. He painstakingly translated and hand rewrote each

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