FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 8, 2008
ALUMNI SIBLINGS’ GIFT HONORS THREE GENERATIONS AT BETHANY
LINDSBORG, Kan.—Three siblings with long-standing ties to Bethany College have given the school $10,000 in memory of their parents and grandparents.
The gift is being given by Diane Abercrombie Estes, Chris Abercrombie and Jim Abercrombie in memory of their parents, Chester and Doris Abercrombie, and grandparents, Prof. Alloch and Ellida Abercrombie. All three Abercrombie siblings are graduates of Bethany College.
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| Bethany College President Ed Leonard and alumnus Chris Abercrombie discuss the Abercrombie family’s recent gift over lunch in the college cafeteria. |
“Bethany College is blessed to have alumni who help us celebrate the college’s past while looking forward to the future. We appreciate the support members of the Abercrombie family have given the college throughout the years,” said Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III.
The gift is one of several significant gifts made to the Pearson Challenge at Bethany College, a campaign to raise $1 million for the construction of a new Swedish chapel and welcome center on campus. If the college raises the money by June 30, Gerald “Bud” Pearson will complete the challenge by donating a matching gift of $1 million.
In honor of the gift, the Swedish chapel and welcome center will include the Abercrombie Reception Area.
“Members of the Abercrombie family have been involved with Bethany College in one capacity or another since 1886. So it is only fitting that our family participates in this exciting and worthwhile building project,” said Chris Abercrombie. “Our parents and grandparents were all very involved in a variety of civic and service clubs and organizations, active members of Messiah Lutheran Church, and enthusiastic supporters of Bethany College.”
The gift was made possible through the sale of a collection of rare coins and currency, owned and collected by Chester Abercrombie, who was a banker in Lindsborg from 1920 to 1973.
The collection was sold through Smoky Valley Rare Coins. Ron Johnson, owner of Smoky Valley Rare Coins, made a substantial in-kind gift of his time and appraisal services to the college.
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| A. A. Abercrombie. |
The Abercrombie family’s ties to the college date back nearly to the time of the college’s founding. Alloch Almeron Abercrombie, originally from the Galva area, came to Lindsborg to attend Bethany at the age of 18 in 1886. Even before he had completed his studies, he was asked by Bethany College founder Carl Aaron Swensson to join the teaching staff in the commerce (now business) department.
Attending Bethany at the same time was Ellida Ellison of Marquette. In 1892, Ellida and Alloch were married by Swensson at Elim Lutheran Church in Marquette. In 1894 they moved into the house at 215 North Second Street in Lindsborg where their grandson Chris resides to this day.
Alloch, who continued his association with Bethany College until his death in 1918, was active in the Lindsborg business community, served on the Lindsborg City Council and was city clerk for a time. Both Alloch and Ellida were charter members of Lindsborg’s Messiah Lutheran Church, which is now celebrating its 100th anniversary year.
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| Chester Abercrombie. |
Chester Abercrombie was born in 1908. Because his father, Alloch, died when he was 10, Chester Abercrombie went to work to help support his family. After two years doing clean-up work at the Lindsborg News-Record, Chester was hired by Ebba Fornberg at Farmers State Bank, now Bank of America. From 1920 and 1973, when he retired, Chester Abercrombie worked his way up from janitor to president and chairman of the board of the bank. He also attended Bethany in the late 1920s and early 1930s. As head of the Selma and Ludwig Nelson Trust, Chester Abercrombie was instrumental in providing significant seed money for Dr. Arvin Hahn's turnaround of Bethany in the late 1960s.
Chester Abercrombie met the former Doris Newcomer, originally of Marquette, through mutual friends in Kansas City during World War Two. In 1945 they were married and Doris and her daughter Diane moved to Lindsborg. Chester Abercrombie later adopted Diane; Chris and Jim Abercrombie were born in 1949 and 1950, respectively.
Diane Abercrombie Estes, a 1956 graduate of the college, lives in Omaha, Neb. Chris Abercrombie, a member of the class of 1971 at Bethany, lives in Lindsborg. Jim Abercrombie, a 1972 Bethany graduate, lives in Herndon, Virginia.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they lead lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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