Alumni Association Honors 1998 First Family of Baylor
The Baylor Alumni Association will honor the Belew/Gorham family with the 1998 First Families of Baylor Award on Friday, Oct. 9, during the early performance of the "After Dark" talent show at Waco Hall.
Presented each year during Parent's Weekend, the First Families of Baylor Award is given to a family who has had two or more generations attend Baylor and continue their support of the university.
Five generations of the Belew/Gorham family have attended Baylor, beginning with Katy Dunn Seymour who was a student at Baylor in 1885, the year before the university moved from Independence to Waco. Her daughter, Mary Seymour Belew, was a 1916 graduate of Baylor. Her husband, George Haggard Belew, Class of 1914, was a trustee of Baylor, a former business manager and one of the people who helped obtain the gift for the construction of Waco Hall.
The third generation of the family includes the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and current Baylor provost emeritus Dr. John Seymour Belew (B.S. 1941) of McGregor; Katherine Ann Belew Gorham (B.A. 1943) of Waco; and Ruth McAtee Belew of McGregor, who attended Baylor in 1941 and taught in the theater department.
Nine members of the Belew/Gorham family represent the fourth generation. Janet Belew Dizinno (B.A. 1976) of San Antonio; James S. Belew of McGregor, who attended Baylor and excavated the university's former site at Independence as an archaeologist for the state of Texas; Mary Lucile Gorham Wallis Lee (B.A. 1967) of Pottsville; retired Air Force Lt. Col. George Arthur Gorham (B.A. 1970) of Edmond, Okla.; Sharon Lee Hutcherson Gorham (B.S. 1972) of Edmond, Okla.; Jim K. Gorham (B.A. 1972, B.Acc. 1979), currently director of accounting services at Baylor; Darlene Winkelmann Gorham (B.A. 1972) of Waco; Dan Belew Gorham (B.B.A. 1979) of Fair Oaks Ranch; and Kathryn McLemore Gorham (B.S.ed 1981) of Fair Oaks Ranch.
The fifth generation includes five Baylor graduates -- Christopher David Wallis (B.B.A. 1991) of Boston, Mass.; Jason Bradley Wallis (B.A. 1995) of Alexandria, Va.; Lela Maxey Wallis (B.A. 1995) of Alexandria, Va.; David Andrew Gorham (B.B.A. 1995) of Waco; and Wendy Czichos Lee (B.A. 1995) of Waco -- and three current Baylor students -- Anna Rebekah Gorham, Ryan Quinton Lee and Jennifer Lynn Gorham. Jennifer is the only family member who will not be able to attend the award presentation, for good reason. She is student teaching in Australia.
For more information about the First Families of Baylor Award, call the Baylor Alumni Association at 710-1121.