Judy Beauchamp Hunt spoke at the Worth County Alumni Reunion Sunday; she was a member of the Class of 1972. 48 students graduated from that class, which marked its 50th anniversary Saturday at the Skating Rink.
Worth County grad Lincoln Moore played his saxophone for the assembly. He can play 16 different instruments. He played the piano for the concert choir, which shocked his own mother, who didn’t realize that he could play the piano. Moore is continuing to pursue his passion for music; he is in college and is planning to become a music teacher.
Emcee Carolyn Hardy announced that yearbooks from last year were sold out. New yearbooks have been printed, this time adding the date of death when known. Eight were sold Sunday. Molly Miller and Cheyenne Fairchild were awarded scholarships by the alumni association.
Judy Beauchamp Hunt is the daughter of the late Shelby and Norma Beauchamp, who lived on the farm at the junction between 169 and the roads that lead to Worth and Denver, five miles south of Grant City. “I miss them every day,” she said. Her sister Vickie and brother Ron also graduated from Worth County.
Following graduation, she enrolled at Northwest Missouri State and completed a one year secretarial certificate in May 1973. She started her work career in the loan department of Provident Savings & Loan in June 1973 and worked in various jobs while raising her two sons, Jared and Ryan.
She returned to college at Missouri Western in 1999, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and a Business minor. She was awarded an Outstanding Graduate in CIS from the Math & Computer Science Department.
She began working for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica as a Marketing Specialist in the Cattle Product Division, later transferring to the Private Label Produce Division. She retired in 2018.
Judy is married to Bob Hunt, and together, they are enjoying retirement, spending time with their blended family of two sons, two daughters, their spouses, and four grandchildren as well as traveling and other hobbies.
Hunt said that she felt so blessed to grow up in Worth County, with so many giving and caring people. She watched how her parents and the people around her actively invested time and resources in the kids. Her parents taught her early on how to have a relationship with Jesus.
She started in first grade in 1960 when the elementary was still on High Street and Mrs. Neva Waldeier was their teacher. They were taught phonics, and they were expected to color their workbooks and missed recess if they did not get their work done on time. Hunt said that it was a very effective method of learning. She met people in St. Joseph who couldn’t read well.
In second grade, Hunt’s teacher was Mrs. Pansy Rinehart. She did lots of math drills and wrote multiplication drills. They had a mock grocery store, where there were shoppers, cashiers, and stockers, and they had to apply their math knowledge.
In sixth grade, they moved to the main building, where there were two buildings in what was the northernmost wing of the school building. They didn’t have to ride back and forth to lunch every day. They could now interact with the high school kids instead of just look on them from afar.
By ninth grade, there were 58 class members and they got to make their own Homecoming floats. In their sophomore year, they thought that they had the perfect float with the theme, “We’ve got ‘em trained!” It was called the Victory Express and it came complete with a smokestack. The problem was that the float caught on fire and burned. But they went on to win in 1970 and 1971.
Hunt talked about the support they had from their sponsors, Norma Maudlin and Mary Ellen Kimble. They finally got to decorate the gym for prom, and they turned it into an island paradise and even covered up the ceiling.
The class of 1972 had its share of tragedy, including the time they lost Mark Findley. On May 12th, 1972, 48 students graduated with the motto, “We’ve only just begun,” which was a popular song during that time. The class flower was the rose and the class colors were red and white.
Hunt talked about the people who were part of their lives, including teachers Bob Newman, Hazel Michael, Pat Newland, 4-H sponsors Don and Lois Null, and the many others who were part of 4-H. She got her first job at Fern’s Drive-In, which was open until 1 am back in those days, and her dad would get up at 1 in the morning so he could pick her up and bring her home. The pay was 50 cents an hour.
She said there were only three certainties in life, death, taxes, and eternity. She said that the gospel message of Jesus was the only thing of eternal value and that Jesus accepted the penalty for our sins.
There were 39 members present and 9 guests. Evelyn Groom was the oldest person present, from the Class of 1948. The biggest family was the Hardy family, with 6 graduates present. The farthest away was Ben Ray, who came from Colorado. The class with the most grads present was the Class of 1972 with 6. There was $232 donated Sunday during the collection and eight books sold.
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